7 



o;? 







H ISTORY 



PITTSKIKLD, N. H 



GRKAT RKBKIvIvION 



BY 

H. L. ROBINSON 



Call back that morning with its luiid light 

When through our land the awful war bell tolled ; 

When lips were mute and women's faces white 
As the pale cloud that out from Sumter rolled. 

— John Boyle O'Reilly. 



PITTSFIELD, N. H. 
1893 



r iX' 



DEDICATION. 

To the present and future citize?is of Piitsfield I consign 
this book, hoping they may be inspired by the same love of 
country that the men herein spoken of inherited from their 
forefathers. 



Copyrighted, 1893, 
By H. L. Robinson. 



PREFACE. 



The magnitude of the war cannot be conceived by any one 
mind, and only by comparing it with other wars and the his- 
tory of other nations does its colossal size become apparent. 

There were over two thousand engagements, — eight hun- 
dred of them as large in men and casualties as the Battle of 
Bunker Hill, of which all New Englanders feel so proud. 
There were more men killed on the field of battle than Eng- 
land has lost in the whole eight hundred years of her exist- 
ence, and more than all of the combined armies of Europe 
have lost for the past eighty years ; and yet our war lasted 
barely four years. No wonder that the young student of 
history becomes confused as he contemplates all of this, and 
confounds Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, Vicksburg, Williams- 
burg, Petersburg, with all the other "burgs" of the South, 
and cannot tell the difference between Chattanooga, Chancel- 
lorsville, or Chickamauga. 

All other histories, as far as I know, deal with armies and 
reijiments, and make heroes of the officers who from a safe 
distance directed the execution of their commands ; but in this 
little volume, I have attempted in my feeble, blundering way 
to lay before my readers the part taken by our townsmen in 
the gigantic struggle, — a struggle unparalleled in the histo- 
ries of nations. I would that the task had fallen to some 
more competent person, but as I was urged to do so by men 
who did not enter the service as well as by my comrades, I 
reluctantly consented, after months of consideration. 

That there may be mistakes in this book no one is better 
aware than myself, and I ask all who may criticise the work 
to be as lenient as possible. It is utterly impossible to have 



4 PREFACE. 

every statement agree with the recollection of every one. 
For instance : One comrade says he was wounded in a certain 
battle, while two of his company say he was not there at all, 
but received his wounds in another fight ; and still another 
comrade declares that the wounded man is right. Again : Of 
one of our men who died in the service, his brother-in-law 
claims, and his statement is supported by others, that the 
dead man neither lived in town nor enlisted from here ; 
while the dead man's brother, and his statement is also sup- 
ported by good evidence, says that he did live here for some 
two years before enlisting. Each party is sure he is right, 
and of course I expect the opposition to say that I am wrong 
in putting in what I have, but I have decided these questions 
as it seemed to me that the strongest evidence showed to be 
correct. Although I had memoranda of many of the events 
herein spoken of, yet no one knows, unless he has tried it, 
how much labor is involved in collecting complete data. I 
anticipated something of this, but had I known the whole, 
I doubt if I should have undertaken the task. 

I cannot let this opportunity pass without extending my 
thanks to those who have so kindly and promptly responded 
to my request for facts. 

Perhaps it may seem that I have given more prominence 
to some men than I have to others. My reply is, that I 
have used everything I could get hold of, that I thought 
could interest those who would care to read this book ; 
"setting down nothing in malice," but giving all an equal 
chance to contribute their story of the four years when we 
made history so fast. 

Another thing has surprised me, and has been a source of 
the greatest gratification, encouraging me to persevere in my 
work ; and that is, the interest taken by those who did not 
enlist nor had friends in the army. The number of sub- 
scribers who voluntarily came forward before I had opened a 
subscription list, was also a delight. 



PREFACE. 5 

I have avoided as far as possible two accounts of the same 
events, but what I have said of one in a general way applies 
to all who were there. For example : The terrible suffering 
at Manchester, in that cold winter, was endured by all of our 
men in both the Seventh and Eighth regiments alike. 

I have also avoided giving descriptions of battles and cam- 
paigns, because they belong more properly to histories of 
regiments or brigades ; but I have given all the incidents 
that I could procure of those engagements in which the Pitts- 
field men took part. But the extreme modesty of some com- 
rades prevents them from telling of their acts of bravery, and 
I have, in a measure, been obliged to rely on those who 
were with them for the facts. 

Of the engravings of this book I will say a word. Some 
of them represent the men at or near the time of their service, 
while others were taken later in life. Nearly all of those who 
enlisted were young men, as my readers will understand from 
the text. Besides the soldiers, I have presented the pictures 
of some of the town officials and leading men and women of 
that time, which I trust will add to the value of this volume. 

Pittsfield, N. H., April 17, 1893. 



PITTSFIELD AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 
CIVIL WAR. 



The people who have come upon the stage of action 
since the War of the Rebellion have no idea of the 
intense political feeling that existed previous to that 
time. 

If a man belonged to one of the great political par- 
ties, and his neighbor to another, then there was a 
barrier between them that could not be passed ; even 
if they belonged to the same benevolent society, or to 
the same church and sat at the same communion 
table, there was no fellowship. Even the church 
must have a clergyman of the same political faith 
with the majority, or he must sink his manhood by 
keeping silence on the questions of the day. These 
things are now happily passed, I trust forever. 

Pittsfield, the scene of some of the historic events 
of the contest against slavery, where resided some of 
the men to whom the Southern states looked for aid 
in their efforts to divide the country, was as patriotic 
as any town in the North ; and those men who had 
sympathized with the South previous to i86i were as 
energetic in prosecuting the war, in raising and equip- 
ping troops and forwarding supplies, as any class of 
men ; nay, more — many of them enlisted, and on the 
battle-field proved their devotion to their country. 
The men who remained at home poured out monev 
and supplies like water to maintain those in the field, 
and since the war with a liberal hand they have done 
everything they could to aid and honor the men who 
went into the army. 



8 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

Pittsfield, at that time, was a small town, without 
railroad or telegraph. It was connected with the 
outside world by three stage-lines, — one, a daily, run- 
ning to Concord, owned by True Garland, a man 
well known throughout the state, and to whom the 
soldiers were indebted for many acts of kindness; 
another to Dover, owned by our venerable townsman, 
Jackson Freese ; and another, running to Laconia by 
way of Alton, driven by Pike Davis. The last two 
were tri-weekly ; not, however, like the one out West, 
the driver of which, when asked what he meant by a 
"•tri-weekly," replied that he went down one week 
and tried to get back the next. 

April 15, 1 86 1, President Lincoln issued a call for 
75,000 volunteers to serve three months. Two days 
later True Garland's stage brought word that a recruit- 
ing office had been opened at Concord. A young 
man hurried to his boarding-place in Pittsfield, and 
hired the man for whom he worked to carry him to 
Concord that night. There he enlisted, but was 
rejected for disability ; however, he afterwards enlisted 
in a later regiment, and served nearly two years. 

Orrin Brock and Henry M. Gordon started to walk 
to Concord. When in Chichester they were overtaken 
by Mr. J. O. Tasker, who kindly gave them a ride to 
that city. There they enlisted. These were soon fol- 
lowed by many more. They all enlisted to go in the 
First regiment, but its ranks were filled so rapidly 
that they were mustered into the Second, and their 
term of service was changed from three months to 
three years. 

Sunday, May 5, 1861, was a beautiful day. The 
sun shone out in all its splendor ; vegetation was well 
advanced ; the leaves of the trees and grass of the 
fields had put on their brightest green for the early 
spring-time. The people of the village were early 
astir, and groups of men could be seen in earnest but 
subdued conversation. At length the only bell in 
town, the one on the cotton factory, rang out the 
summons to worship. The people flocked to the 



PITTSFIELD AT THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR. 9 

Congregational church, where special service was to 
be held. The consecrated building had been filled 
many times, but it never held more than on that May 
morning. Soon the notes of fife and drum were 
heard, — something never known before in our quiet 
village on the Sabbath. The sound drew nearer, and 
into the church marched some twelve or fifteen stal- 
wart young men, who seated themselves in pews near 
the pulpit 

The services were participated in by the various 
clergymen of the town. Prayer was offered by Rev. 
James Morrill. Then the audience joined in sing- 
ing "America." Rev. J. A. Hood, a most eloquent 
divine, was at his best. He preached a sermon from 
Isaiah xiii, 4: '-'-The Loi'd of Hosts mustered His 
hosts of the battle.'" It was a powerful discourse, 
full of patriotism and encouragement to those who 
were about to leave their homes to enter the service 
of their country. 

It was a novel sight to the crowds of people present 
on that day ; but, alas ! enlisting soon became so com- 
mon that scores of young men entered the army and 
hardly a remark was made. I think Miss Mary E. 
Brown presided at the fine old organ, and a choir, 
composed of Mr. William Lake, Mr. Penniman, 
S. Ambrose Brown, Misses Addie M. Knowles, Ellen 
M. Perkins, Laura C. French, and Abbie J. Sanborn, 
sang that glorious old hymn entitled " We will con- 
quer or die," the first stanza of which was as follows : 

" Go tread in the pathway your forefathers trod ; 
Remember your leader, your captain, is God. 
Go spread your broad banners beneath the blue sky; 
Remember the watchword, ' We conquer or die.'" 

Another hymn, written lor the occasion, was sung, 
the words of which I have been unable to obtain. 
Then a procession was formed. John C. French, 
who in his boyhood had attended a military school, 
played the fife, while Bradbury H. Bartlett acted as 
drummer. The newly fledged soldiers were escorted 
1* 



lO PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

to the corner of Water street, where the last parting 
words were said, and carriages were taken for Con- 
cord, many citizens accompanying the recruits as far 
as Chichester. 

Some of our citizens deplored the " desecration," 
as they called it, of the Sabbath, by playing on a fife 
and drum in our streets, and to keep step to the mu- 
sic,— they deemed a sacrilege. But, like all things 
connected with the war, they soon became used to it. 



ARMY LIFE. 



Many of the men when they enlisted kept a diary. 
Some of these were lost, but many were discontinued 
because of lack of facilities for writing by the men in 
the ranks. A few, a very few, have been preserved 
until the present time. I have been able to obtain 
some of them. When the comrades handed them to 
me each said that I should find nothing of interest in 
his, but I think my readers will join with me in say- 
ing that they form the most interesting part of this 
book. They let one into the private life of the soldiers, 
so that we may 'know what they felt, saw, and suf- 
fered ; and their experience was about the average 
experience of the soldier, — some suffered more and 
some less. 

The reader will observe that the v\^ord bivouac 
often occurs. It is rather a romantic word ; it is 
very poetic — in fact, it is as picturesque as a tumble- 
down house or a ragged urchin, and like them it is 
very uncomfortable. It means that after a long, hard 
day's march, with sixty pounds of trappings and a 
rifle to carry through the dust under a hot sun, you 
are ordered to halt. How gladly you do it ! You 
would have done so before if that officer on horseback 
had only invited you to do so. Then you are ordered 
to stack arms and unsling your equipments. These, 
too, are welcome words to you. If you are not detailed 
to go on guard or to do some other thing about camp, 
you can get your supper. 

We read about "coffee-boilers" in the army. I 
saw but very little of them, and a careful inquiry 



12 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

among my comrades brings the same answer. In 
Louisiana, when we were on the march and came 
to a halt, the men were tired enough to lie down 
without making a fire. Their supper consisted of 
what they had in their haversacks — meat that had 
been cooked perhaps two or three days, and hard 
bread that had been baked for years. Then you lie 
down on the ground and get what rest you can, with 
nothing over you but the stars of heaven, unless it 
should happen to be stormy ; then the clouds would 
be so high above you, and they would pour so much 
water down on you, that you would always prefer a 
covering of stars to one of clouds. In fair weather 
you would use your boots for a pillow ; in rainy 
weather you would keep them on to prevent your 
feet from getting wet. You would just get to sleep 
when some mule in the wagon train would set up an 
unearthly bray, or the orderly would turn you over to 
see if you were the man he was hunting for, or 
perchance the long roll would sound. " Then there 
would be hurrying to and fro," for the enemy was 
upon you in the darkness ! At daylight you would 
breakfast on w'hat you had left from supper, with the 
addition generally of a cup of black coffee that the 
poor cooks, who had been called up by the guard two 
hours before, had made for you. Then came another 
day's march, the same as the day before, and another 
night like the preceding, until weeks and perhaps 
months had passed before you could get a good 
square meal, or get on an average over four hours' 
sleep out of the twenty-four. Oh, yes, a bivouac is a 
very nice thing to read about, but anything but pleas- 
ant to experience. 

And yet some people think, or pretend to believe, 
that the men who went to the war had " a jolly pic- 
nic," and wonder why they should break down 
twenty years before their time, taking the men who 
remained at home as a standard. But to those who 
experienced the hardships, who endured the heat and 
cold, the thirst, hunger, fatigue, and exposure, the 



ARMY LIFE. I3 

wonder is that one is left to tell the story. When the 
boys meet now, instead of recounting their hardships, 
they indulge in some comical story, or with subdued 
voices inquire for some comrade, and give a sigh 
when they learn that he has been "• mustered out," 
and then in tender tones they will recount the good 
and brave deeds of their friend. It is this, perhaps, 
more than anything else that gives the impression to 
those who never '' drank from the same canteen " that 
there was more fun than fighting from i86r to 1865. 



PITTSFIELD'S REPRESENTATIVES IN THE 
WAR OF THE REBELLION. 



N. W. ADAMS. 

No man is better known in this town than Wilson 
Adams, who was born in Barnstead, December 15, 
1840. His father was John Adams, his mother Sarah 
(Seward) Adams. Young Adams came to Pittsfield 
in 1S57, ^"^^ worked at shoemaking for a short time ; 
and then at farming until he enlisted in August, 1861, 
in the Third regiment and was appointed sergeant. 
He was married, August 15th, 1S61, to Mary A. 
Blake. Before the regiment was mustered into the 
United States service he took a severe cold, which re- 
sulted in a fever, so that he had to abandon the idea 
of going with that regiment, whose ranks had been 
filled up in the meantime. He went as a recruit to 
the Second regiment, which he joined at Bladensburg, 
Md., as a member of Company B. 

His first " active " service was at the siege of York- 
town ; then he was at the battle of- Williamsburg, 
afterward at Fair Oaks ; then in the Seven Days 
Fight, and in both of the battles of Fredericksburg. 

At Gettysburg his company was stationed at the 
Peach Orchard. At Cold Harbor he was severely 
wounded, and was sent to Chestnut Hill hospital, 
Philadelphia, then to Concord, v^diere he was dis- 
charged. He now lives on Alain street in Pittsfield 
village. 

He was in every engagement in which the famous 
Second New Hampshire was engaged during his term 




To All Her Sons Who Enlisted to Defend and Perpetuate 
THE Union, Pittsfield Dedicates this Monument. 



N. W. ADAMS. 15 

of service, except the second battle of Bull Run. 
The way Wilson got out of this was as follows : The 
regiment arrived at Port Royal at night. The next 
morning Adams like a true soldier started out to find 
something to eat. He discovered a mill about a half 
mile away, and had just filled his haversack when the 
bugles sounded. He rushed back to find his com- 
pany in line. The captain, to punish him for being 
tardy, made him fall in, in the rear aniong the short 
men. Just then an order came for two men to report 
to the colonel. Adams was one that was detailed. 

These men were placed in charge of a sergeant and 
left to guard the camp. Here they remained four 
days, when an officer came with an order to destroy 
everything, and so save it from falling into the enemy's 
hands. Then commenced one of the greatest destruc- 
tions of property known in the war, — tents and camp 
equipage, and rations of all kinds were burned, 
amounting to millions of dollars in value. 

Then these men began their march to Alexandria. 
At Drury's Bluff' Adams took a prisoner, the first in 
that engagement. The regiment expected a charge 
from the enemy, and procured a lot of telegraph wire 
and stretched it from stump to stump, and when the 
charge was made the enemy were piled in heaps. 
While standing at the camp fire, near Fair Oaks, the 
evening before the battle, a ball struck him in the 
breast, penetrated his Bible, several letters from his 
best girl, and made a severe bruise on the flesh that 
was quite troublesome for some days. 

His company were armed with Sharp's rifles and 
they were always used as skirmishers. They fired 
the first shot at the Battle of Williamsburg, and pris- 
oners taken at that time said they had rhen killed by 
that discharge that were a mile or more away. These 
rifles would bore a hole in a man as big as your fist, 
and consumed so much ammunition that every com- 
pany armed with them had an ammunition wagon to 
keep it supplied. At this battle they had used up all 
but one round, when Gen. Heintzelman rode up and 



l6 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

asked who they were. When told, he ordered them 
to charge into some bushes ; and in they went, only to 
receive the fire of a hidden enemy, killing several of 
the companv. Immediately they discharged their re- 
maining volley and rushed on. driving the enemy out 
and capturing several prisoners. 

At this same battle. Gen. Heintzelman rode up to 
the brigade band and shouted, "Strike up Yankee 

Doodle or some other d d Doodle !" The band 

began to play at once, the order to charge was given, 
our men rushed forward, and drove the enemy from 
their position. It was learned that the rebels sup- 
posed we had received reenforcements, from the fact 
that they heard a band for the first time during the day. 

Of course Adams has his stories to tell of that grand 
old man, Colonel Oilman Marston. At Fair Oaks, 
wdiile his men were falling fast, an order came for the 
regiment to make a charge. It was a nasty place, and 
as the colonel received the order, he turned to his 
men, while the tears rolled down his cheeks, and said, 
"Boys, do your duty today and I will never ask you 
to do it again." Ever after that he would say, "Boys, 
I shan't ask you ; I knoiv you will do your duty." 

One day the colonel of another regiment called on 
Marston and said that the boys of the Second New 
Hampshire were stealing from his men. This so 
enraged the old hero that he kicked his visitor out of 
the tent, saying, "It's a libel. My bo3-s never steal, 
they only take what they want." 

ORRIN BROCK. 

In 1861, John Clark had a checkerberry distillery 
near where Berry brook crosses the road. The people 
in this vicinity wdien they had notliing else to do 
would pick checkerberry leaves and sell them to the 
old man. In this way they would earn very fair 
wages. On the morning of April 21, 1861, while at 
breakfast, Orrin Brock learned that a recruiting office 
had been opened at Concord and he determined to 



' ORRIN BROCK. 1 7 

enlist ; so, as soon as be had finished his meal, he took 
his basket and bag, ostensibly to pick checkerberry 
leaves. He went behind his fathers blacksmith shop 
and hid his basket under the sling, then, making a 
detour through the pastures, he entered the village, 
vvdiere he found a friend of his, H. M. Gordon. After 
a short conversation, they started for Concord on foot. 
When part way to tlie city they were overtaken by J. 
O. Tasker, who, as soon as he learned their destina- 
tion, took them into his wagon and carried them tlie 
rest of their journey. They at once enlisted. There 
had been but very few enlistments in the state up to 
that time, and Brock was the first man accepted from 
this town. 

He was born in Barnstead, December 13, 1S42, a 
son of Stephen and Lydia A. (Lee) Brock ; and 
moved with his parents to Pittsfield in 1846. Besides 
attending school he was employed as a hostler, being 
a great lover of horses. 

When he enlisted the intention was that he and his 
comrade should go in the First New Hampshire, but 
owing to some misunderstanding, which it is needless 
to explain here, he was mustered into Co. E, of the 
Second regiment, at Portsmouth June 3, 1S61, as a 
corporal. The regiment soon left for Washington 
and were encamped on Capitol hill. They composed 
a part of the brigade under the command of General 
Burnside at the first battle of Bull Run and covered 
the retreat. After reaching Washington they were 
sent to Bladensbnrg, Md., and then to Budd's 
Ferry on the lower Potomac. They took part in the 
Peninsular campaign and the siege of Yorktown, and 
were in the battle of Williamsburg, May tj, 1S63. 
At this battle Brock was wounded by the explosion 
of a shell. Plis company were on the skirmish line, 
and had advanced as far as they could when they 
were ordered to lie down. Brock was on a brush 
heap behind a tall stump, when a shell exploded near 
him. A piece flew, striking him and injuring the 
muscles of the arm so that it has been .crooked ever 



1 8 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

since ; another piece struck his finger, cutting it off. 
This was near Fort Macgruder. They had silenced 
the guns in their front, but this shell came from a 
long distance to their right. 

Twenty days later, June 25, 1862, Brock took part 
in the battle of Fair Oaks. June 27, he was at the 
battle of Savage Station ; the next day, at Peach 
Orchard; on June 30, at Glendale ; July i, at the 
first battle of Malvern Hill ; on August 5, at the sec- 
ond battle of Malvern Hill, and on August 27 at Bris- 
tow Station. By this time his regiment had become 
so reduced that they were given a chance to recruit, 
and Brock was promoted to the rank of sergeant. 
The next regular battle in which he was engaged was 
at Drury's Blufi', from May 14 to May 16, 1S64. 

He had already reenlisted in the field, January i, 
1864. A year later his long exposure had begun to 
tell on his strong constitution, and he was discharged 
February 17, 1865, for disability contracted in the 
service. At that time he weighed scarcely 100 
pounds. 

At Yorktown, v^hen General McClellan was send- 
ing up a balloon to observe what the enemy was 
doing, the rebels commenced to fire at it, and one of 
the shells struck the ground, killing ten of Brock's 
company. All of these were standing near him. 

When the rebels began to evacuate Yorktown, 
Brock, who was hiding behind a tree, stepped out to 
see what was going on. There was considerable 
firing, and Orrin thought he would get into cover. 
He had but just stepped aside, when a ball struck the 
tree where he had been standing. 

His present home is on Catamount street in this 
village. 



JOHN BROCK. 19 



JOHN BROCK, 



John Brock, a brother of the above, was a very 
dark-complexioned man, with coal-bhick hair and 
eves, and the exposure to a southern sun had not im- 
proved him in this regard. At one time the Seventh 
regiment was sent to reheve a negro regiment that 
had been doing guard and fatigue duty at the wharf 
on Morris island. After stacking arms, Brock wan- 
dered down to the beach. A sergeant from the col- 
ored regiment came up to Lieutenant Jacobs, and, 
saluting the officer, said, "Lieutenant, we have lost 
one of our men ; have you seen anything of him ?" 

"I guess that is your man," replied Jacobs, point- 
ing to Brock. 

''Thank you, sar ! thank you, sar ! " said the ser- 
geant, as he hurried away ; and approaching Brock, 
he called out, ""Here, you worthless nigger, git into 
the ranks. What you loitering 'round here for? 
You 're always loitering." 

Brock looked up, and seeing that the negro was 
addressing him, called out, " You black son-of-a-gun, 
do you take me for a nigger.?" 

''I'se beg your pardon, massa," replied the colored 
man, who was frightened into the abject manner of 
the plantation. " I'se beg your pardon. I thought 
you 'se Sam Jones, one of my men." 

It was a long time afterwards before Brock heard 
the last of this incident. 

John Brock was born in Pittsfield, August 12, 1834. 
He was mustered into Company G, Seventh New 
Hampshire volunteers, November 23, 1861 ; was pro- 
moted to corporal. Reenlisted February 27, 1864, 
and served until the close of the war, and partici- 
pated in every battle in which his regiment was en- 
gaged. His captain, Lieut. Jacobs, above alluded to, 
says that Brock was one of the best soldiers he ever 
saw. He never was sick, and was always willing to 



2 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

do his share of duty. He died in Pittsfield, April 14, 

CHARLES H. BROCK. 

Charles H. Brock, who is still a resident of Pitts- 
field, was another brotlier of the above family. He 
was born in this town July 13, 1S32. He always 
made his home here except for five years, when he 
was at Sag Harbor, L. L, employed in a cotton fac- 
tory. He is a slioemaker by trade. July 30, 1S54, 
he married Mrs. Almira H. Austin, by whom he had 
one child. 

He enlisted in Company F, Twelfth New Hamp- 
shire volunteers, September 5, 1S62, and was at once 
made a corporal. At one time, while in charge of a 
detail cutting wood, an axe in the hands of a comrade 
glanced, cutting ofi' three fingers from his right hand. 
He was transferred to the Invalid corps in March, 
1863, and stationed at Findley hospital in the city of 
Washington. While here the rebels under General 
Early made their famous raid on the city. The 
Invalid corps turned out and defended the capitol 
until reinforcements arrived. Then, on Early's re- 
treat, they followed him up the valley. After his 
return from this pursuit, Brock was discharged Sep- 
tember 26, 1S64. 

STEPHEN BROCK, JR. 

Stephen was a brother of tlie preceding. He was 
born November, 1S40, and died in this town Septem- 
ber 15, 1S72. He enlisted in the spring of 1S64 in 
the Second regiment, but for certain reasons was not 
mustered into service. He afterwards enlisted in 
Troop D, First New Hampshire cavalry, and was 
mustered into service July 25, 1864, and served with 
credit until the close of the war. 

Some of the officers in the army became petty 
tyrants and would abuse the men whenever they 
could, but the soldiers lost no opportunity to retail- 



JOHN BROOKS. 21 

ate. A major of a certain regiment who was noted . 
in this regard, rode out to a vidette post where Brock 
was stationed. As he sat on his horse he began to 
find fault with everything. While he was talking to 
the sergeant in charge, Brock went to a fire in the 
ground where the soldiers were roasting some sweet 
potatoes. Raking open the coals, he took a potato in 
the corner of his blouse, and going behind the major's 
horse tucked it under his tail. The way that horse 
hugged that hot potato with his caudal appendage 
and started down the road toward camp, would have 
surprised any one who saw it. In fact, the ride was 
equal to the one made by the famous "John Gilpin of 
London town." 

JOHN BROOKS 

was a son of Samuel and Eliza (VVilley) Brooks. 
He was born at Pittsfield, December 24, 1842, and 
always resided here until he enlisted in Company H, 
Third New Hampshire volunteers, August 23, 1861. 
He was wounded June 16, 1862. was made corporal 
September, 1863, and reenlisted January 31, 1864. 
He came home on a furlough in March, 1864, and 
visited the grave of his cousin, C. O. Ring, with that 
young soldier's mother. While standing there, he 
said, "Aunt Mary, Charley fared better than I shall, 
for his body was brought home, but I shall be laid in 
Southern soil." 

At the time his company was surprised on Pinck- 
ney island, where Ring was killed, he was sick in 
the hospital. When he heard of his friend's tragic 
death he left the hospital, although the surgeon told 
him he would die if he did. To this he replied, " I 
do n't care to live now that Charlie is gone." (See 
sketch of Charles O Ring.) 

vSoon after his return to his regiment, the army 
invested Petersburg. In just two years from his first 
wound, June 16, 1864, he was wounded again, and 
was taken to Point of Rocks, where he died the next 
day. He was in the service nearly three years. 



2 2 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

When Brooks received the last wound, a comrade 
hastened to assist him to the rear, but he declined the 
proffered aid, saying, " Load my gun so that I can 
give them villains one more shot." This he did until 
his officers put a stop to it by giving orders to two of 
the men to carry Brooks to the hospital. 

HENRY PLUMMER BROOKS. 

Henry Plummer Brooks, a native of Pittsfield, was 
born February 28, 1S49. December 28, 1S63, when 
only fourteen years old, he enlisted in Company H, 
Third regiment New Hampshire volunteers, as a 
private. He was engaged in the battles of Point of 
Rocks and Fort Fisher, where he conducted himself 
with great braver}'. He escaped tlie bullets of the 
enemy only to die of chronic diarrhoea at Fort Fisher. 
The adjutant-general's report says he died at Wil- 
mington, N. C, April 14, 1864, but several of his 
comrades who were with him at the time say the 
report is incorrect. 

He was a brother of John Brooks of the same com- 
pany, and stood by the latter's side when he received 
his death wound. He mourned his brother's death, 
and without doubt the shock hastened his end. 

It is a singular coincidence that Pittsfield should 
have the distinction of not only furnishing the oldest 
man from the entire North (Israel Drew), but also 
the youngest soldier. Plummer Brooks was but 
fourteen years and ten months of aee when mustered 
into service. 

For two years the National Tribuize of Washing- 
ton has been publishing the age of the youngest sol- 
diers, as well as the oldest. The youngest claimant, 
out of over 100 names furnished that paper, was fif- 
teen years and eight months old. To be sure, there 
were boys younger than that who were drummers, 
but Brooks was the youngest by ten months of those 
who carried a gun. 





:^ S 





N. W. Adams. 
John Brooks. 
H. P. Brooks. 



Orrin Brock. 
B. H. Bartlett. 
A. W. Bartlett. 



ASA W. BARTLETT. 23 



BRADBURY H. BARTLETT 

came to Pittsfield in 1S54. ^^^ ^^^ ^ native of 
Grantham, where he was born March 18, 1839. His 
parents were Richard and Caroline O. (Williams) 
Bartlett. He worked at farming and shoemaking 
and attended the academy, and later studied medicine 
with Dr. Charles Berry. October 15, 1859, ^^^ mar- 
ried Mrs. Ruth French. He entered the army as a 
member of Company E, First New Hampshire heavy 
artillery, and was made hospital steward. He soon 
had charge of the hospital at one of the forts near 
Washington. He seems to have been peculiarly 
fitted for the medical profession, as his success in the 
army and his private practice shows. He was dis- 
charged at the close of the war. He died about fif- 
teen years ago, at Amherst, N. H., where he had 
been in the practice of his profession for several years. 

ASA W. BARTLETT, 

a brother of the above and the youngest of the 
family, was born at Epping, N. H., August 29, 1S39. 
His parents moved to Pittsfield when Asa was quite 
small. Here he got his education in the town schools 
and academy, working on a farm and studying for 
the profession of law until the spring of 1859, when 
he went West. There he taught school and contin- 
ued his studies. 

Being a ready speaker, he took an active part in 
the political campaign of i860 in behalf of Abraham 
Lincoln, and in other campaigns until 1886. He 
returned home in 1862, and August 21 of that year 
he enlisted in Company F, Twelfth New Hampshire 
volunteers, as a drummer, being of too small stature 
to go in the ranks. He was soon detailed as clerk, 
and served in difibrent departments until he became 
sergeant-major of his regiment. March 3, 1864, he 
was made a second lieutenant of Company G, and on 



24 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

July 15, 1864, he was made first lieutenant, and, 
finally, he was commissioned as captain of Company 
C, same regiment, September 28, 1864. 

He was with his regiment in the battles of Chancel- 
lorsville. Swift Creek, Relay House, Drury's Bluft', 
and Port Walthall. He had a thrilling experience in 
the fight and retreat from the first-named battle, when 
he took the national flag from the hands of a wounded 
color-bearer and succeeded, in spite of rebel Minies 
and a sweeping storm of shot and shell, in carrying 
the flag safely from the field. 

During his term of service he acted in many differ- 
ent capacities, besides performing his duties as a line 
officer in command of a company, some of which 
were quite important and responsible. He was 
selected by General Wistar to act for some time as 
judge advocate general. For a while he performed 
the duties of chief signal officer for the Army of the 
James, having had but three weeks' instruction, al- 
though all the old signal officers had had six months' 
study and drill. He was the only one of several 
examined who was found able to do quick signalling, 
and in a few days was given charge of the important 
transmission and observation station on the Bermuda 
Front, known as Butler's or Cobb Hill tower, where 
he was for several days a target for Whitworth pro- 
jectiles. A picture of Bartlett and this tower appears 
in Butler's book, page 6S0. 

Later, while in charge of Crow's Nest tower near 
Dutch Gap, he was under fire of five of the enemy's 
guns, three of them 200-pound rifles, from nine 
o'clock a. m. until four p. m. During that time the 
tower received one hundred and sixty-five shot, and 
he was standing in it one hundred and thirty feet 
from the ground. A soldier who visited this tower 
soon after said, — " I don't believe there was a whole 
stick left in the structure ; all were either splintered 
or broken. Even the boards of the platform on which 
Bartlett and his companion stood were broken by 
pieces of shell that had burst below them." 



ASA W. RARTLETT. 25 

At the battle of Chapiii's Farm, Bartlett found that 
two cannon had been planted the night before just 
across the river on purpose to knock him out of the 
tower while the heavier guns of Howlett's battery 
were trying to knock it down. No wonder that when 
the " ball" opened on that eventful day, he turned to 
his flagman and remarked, " We might as well make 
our peace with God, for we shall never get out of 
this alive.'' Yet, strange to say and impossible as it 
seems, though the platform, posts, ladders, and braces 
were rent, splintered, and broken, the tower stood, 
and they did get out of it not only alive but unhurt. 

Captain Bartlett has informed the writer that though 
it was a mighty " uncertain balance of chances," he 
has once or twice stood in places of greater danger, 
but never where it required greater nerve power to 
control himself. " To keep your eye," said he, 
" steadily on the glass and keep cool enough to catch 
and interpret every switch of the distant flag through 
the smoke of battle, while a 200-pound shell explodes 
within the tower directly beneath you, and spiteful 
percussion lo-pounders are flying around your head, 
is not, as you can imagine, a very easy thing to do. 
There is an almost irresistible impulse to let the mes- 
sage, however important it may be, go to the d 1, 

and look around and see if you are not going the 
same way yourself." 

He continued in the signal service until December, 

1564, when by reason of sickness and meritorious 
conduct he was given a three-months furlough by 
General Ord. At the end of that time, March 18, 

1565, he wrote his resignation while lying sick, as he 
had been most of the time during his furlough, on 
what it was thought would be his death-bed. It was 
two years before he was able to resume the active 
duties of life. After serving for a time as judge 
advocate on General Wistar's stafl' he was recom- 
mended by that oflicer for promotion as post judge 
advocate, with rank of lieutenant-colonel. At nearly 
the same time a position as signal officer was tendered 

2 



26 PITTSFIELD IN THE RERELLION. 

him, which he accepted, preferring an active Hfe at the 
front to a station at Fortress Munroe. 

Comrade Bartlett is still living in this town, and is 
well known throughout the state as a vigorous speaker. 

A comrade tells the following incident: "The 
Twelfth regiment was being moved from one part of 
the field to another, when they passed a signal tower, 
at the foot of which General Devens (I think) sat on 
his horse, fretting because no officer could stay in 
it long enough to take a dispatch without being 
wounded. ' I can take that dispatch,' said Bartlett 
to a comrade. ' Very well then, my little man, go 
up and take it,' said the general, who overheard the 
remark. Bartlett ran up the ladder like a squirrel, 
took the dispatch and repeated down, and then came 
down as fast as he could. The men had nearly all 
passed, and in the meantime the enemy had brought 
another battery to bear, and before Bartlett had gotten 
away they knocked it over, so that the timbers in fall- 
ing struck near him, while the amateur signal officer 
ran aw^ay, clai)ping his hands and laughing like a 
school boy at a game of ball." 

Rev. J." A. Chamberlin, a member of the Christian 
Commission, tells the following story : "I was sitting in 
General Wistar's tent when Capt. A. W. Bartlett was 
announced, and a slight boyish figure entered. Had 
I seen him anywliere I should have thought him the 
young son of some officer who had taken his boy out 
to let him see something of the war. General Wistar 
motioned him to a seat, and commenced to ask him 
questions. These were readily answered — in fact 
before I could comprehend them the answer came, 
and it proved always correct. When the examination 
was through Bartlett said, " General, may I ask a 
question ? " " Yes, sir," was the answer. Then Bart- 
lett stated his question. 

"I don't know," General Wistar replied, "what 
would you do in such a case?" 

"I don't know either," answered Bartlett; "if I 



WILLIAM HENRY P.LAKE. 27 

had known I should not have asked the question. It 
occurretl to me such a case might arise and I asked for 
information." 

As Bartlett left the tent the general turned to Mr. 
Ciiamberlin and inquired, •' Have you any more such 
little boys up in New Hampshire?" 

AVILLIAM HENRY BLAKE, 

who still lives in tliis town, was born in Loudon, May 
10, 1S42, son of VViUiam T. and Joanna (Roberts) 
Blake. He came to Pittsheld when but five or six 
years of age, and attended scliool and worked with 
his father in the blacksmith shop on Concord street, 
that stood on- tiie site of Hartwell's grist-mill. He 
enlisted in Company F, Twelfth New Hampshire 
volunteers, September 5, 1S64. 

At the Battle of Fredericksburg the regiment 
marched over the hill and rested near the river. While 
crossing the hill many of them were hit, but down by 
the river the shells would pass over their heads. Still 
it was a rather uncomfortable place for Blake. Look- 
ing back about half-way up the hill he saw a tree that 
he thought would make a good shelter ; so he ske- 
daddled for that, but had hardly got behind it and 
congratulated himself on his fine protection, when a 
shell struck the tree just above his iiead and exploded. 
He left his hiding-place pretty quick. After crossing 
the river he was detailed on the skirmish line which 
was advanced so far that when the army fell back the 
skirmishers were forgotten. Soon he saw the lieuten- 
ant-colonel of the regiment crawling towards them 
and making motions for them to fall back ; this tiiey 
did with alacrity and none too soon, for they were 
nearly surrounded. They afterwards learned that the 
colonel had given them up as lost, and had advised 
against the lieutenant-colonel going to their rescue. 
The}^ at last readied the bridge and hurried over it, 
expecting the enemy to fire upon them, but while they 
were going one way the rebels were going the other. 



28 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

At Chancellorsville, Va., on May 3, 1S63, was 
fought one of the bloodiest battles of the war. When 
our lines were driven back, Blake was captured, taken 
to Richmond, and confined in Libby Prison ; here he 
remained for several months with " nothing to do," 
as he expressed it, " but to pick lice by day [and there 
were plenty of them to pick] and to sleep nights," 
when the lice and mosquitoes would permit. 

One day a squad of men were to be taken out for 
exchange. The men were formed to be marched 
out, and surrounded by the guards ; one of the latter 
turned to speak to a companion, and Blake slipped 
into the squad unperceived and marched out with the 
others. He was placed aboard a boat and taken to 
Annapolis, and put in a hospital. At that time he 
weighed but ninety-nine pounds. Here he remained 
for a long time ; his recovery was slow, and it was 
found that he would not be able to rejoin his regiment, 
so he was transferred to the Veterans' Reserve corps. 
He was first sent to Washington and Georgetown, 
guarding bridges, etc., and then to Elmira, N. Y., 
guarding rebel prisoners. Here he remained until 
the close of the war. 

When he entered the army he was very athletic ; 
he would go on the parade ground, and after turning 
several handsprings, would walk to his tent on his 
hands^ much to the amusement of his comrades. 

SOLON G. BLAISDEI.L, 

now of San Diego, Cal., was a harness-miker by 
trade, and had a shop, first on Water street and after- 
wards on Main street. He was born in Danville, 
Vt., February 11, 1834. His parents were Green- 
leaf L. and Emeline (Babbit) Blaisdell. At what 
time he came to town, I have been unable to learn. 
He married, December 17, 1859, Miss Annie G. 
Clarke. He enlisted first in Company G, Eighfn New 
Hampshire volunteers, but owing to some misunder- 
standinof he was not mustered into service. In 



WILLIAM T. BATCHELDER. 2 9 

August, 1S62, he entered Company F, Twelfth New 
Hampshire volunteers, was made a sergeant, after- 
w^ards promoted to first sergeant, and then to 
brevet lieutenant. He participated in the battles of 
Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wrap- 
ping Heights, Swift Creek, Drury's Bluff, Port 
Walthall, Cold Harbor, Bermuda Front. At I*eters- 
burg for seventy-two days he was under fire, and at 
the capture of Richmond was one of the first men to 
enter the city. At Cold Harbor, he was wounded 
quite severely in the left arm and side, and also in the 
foot. The captain of his company tells me that he 
was one of the most reliable soldiers in the regiment, 
and deserved promotion long before he received it. 

WILLIAM T. BATCHELDER 

came to Pittsfield about 1S54 ^^ work on a fiirm for a 
Mrs. Berry who lived on the east side of Catamount, 
and whom he subsequently married. He was a 
native of Loudon, where he was born September 35, 
1833. His parents were Jonathan and Lois (Wells) 
Batchelder. 

He enlisted in Company F, Twelfth New Hamp- 
shire volunteers, August 33, 1S63. He was in all of 
the battles that this distinguished battalion partici- 
pated in until the Battle of Cold Harbor, where he 
was severely wounded in his left shoulder, and ren- 
dered unfit for further service. 

He was one of those soldiers who would always 
grumble ; if everything was going smoothly he would 
find fault, if anything went wrong he would scold 
harder than ever. At Chancellorsville he was 
wounded in the head, but still he kept on fighting 
and when the order came to fall back, thougii the 
blood was running over his face and clothes, he called 
out, — '' What is the use of retreating.? I thought we 
came out to fight, and we might as well fight now as 
any time." When told that it was orders from head- 
quarters he said, — " I thought Joe Hooker knew some- 



30 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

thing ! Call him * fighting Joe ' — lie do n't half fight ; " 
and tinning to his comrades he said, " Let us go back 
and give them re))els the d — 1." 

He was a man of rather small stature, yet from the 
Wilderness to Cold Harbor he carried a musket and 
a spade. When ordered to intrench, he would stick 
his bayonet and gun in the ground and scold because 
he could not fight ; then when the rebels would attack 
before his trench was done, and he had to seize his 
gun to drive them back, he would scold because he 
could not finish his trench. 

In private life he was a good citizen and a verv 
quiet man. He died in Pittsfield, June 24, 1S91, of 
disease contracted in the arnjy. 

CHARLES BUZZELL. 

In Company C, Eighteenth New Hampshire volun- 
teers, were eleven Pittsfield men, among whom was 
Charles Buzzell, a son of Oilman and Eliza (Watson) 
Buzzell. He was a native of Tamvvorth, N. H., and 
came to this town with his parents when about four 
years of age, and resided here until he enlisted, 
September 6, 1S64. He was mustered into service 
eight days later, and immediately started for City 
Point, Va., where two, of the companies of the regi- 
ment were already stationed. 

Here these men were employed through the winter 
in building a stockade, in which prisoners captured 
from the enemy were confined, and drilling for the 
coming campaign. In February they were set to 
building cordurov roads in Appomattox swamp. 
While thus engaged they made several raids through 
the surrounding countrv to drive ofT small bands of 
the enemy, who were continually annoying them. 

On March 25, 1S65, the rebels attacked Fort Sted- 
man and captured it. The Eighteenth was ordered 
out, and took an active part in retaking the fort. 

The next day the men were put on the skirmish 
line in front of Fort Stedman, and did dut}' here imtil 



JONATHAN W. BARTLETT. 3 1 

the second of April, when Buzzell and a few others 
were sent out to draw the fire of the enemy. This 
they did, and Buzzell says in his quaint way, "We 
must have scared the enemy, for they could n't hit a 
barn door. We lay down on the field — I think I stuck 
my nose into the ground about six inches — and when 
the order came to fi\\\ back, I concluded that it was 
no place for Buzzell ; so I took my old gun in one 
hand and my cap in the other, and I guess that the 
reason the ' rebs.' did n't hit me was because I made 
such a dust they could n't see." 

The next day Petersburg was evacuated, and after 
marching through the city, they were sent to the 
South Side railroad to do picket duty, and remained 
there until the surrender of Lee, when they went to 
Washington and stayed until they were discharged. 
Here Buzzell was taken sick ; so he did not come 
home with his regiment, but reached his father's 
house July 3, 1S65. He has since removed to the 
West, and is now living at Smith Centre, Smith 
county, Kan. 

JONATHAN W. BARTLETT 

was born in Pittsfield in 1S42, son of Josiah and 
Hannah (Clark) Bartlett. He enlisted September 3, 
1S64, in Company C, Eighteenth New Hampshire 
volunteers, served with his regiment until the close of 
the war, and was discharged June 10, 1S65. He is 
now living at Woodland, Ind. 

The small boys of Pittsfield were as patriotic as the 
men ; some of them ran away from home to enlist, 
and their parents would have to go for them to get 
them back. Many a mother lay awake nights, worry- 
ing for fear her darling boy would leave home to go 
in tlie army. There are scores of middle-aged men 
who will tell how they tried to plan some way to pass 
muster as eighteen years of age. One man relates 
how he returned from liis work and found his little 



32 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

son some eight years old sitting on the doorstep, 
looking very disconsolate. 

" What is the matter?" inquired the father. 

" I was thinking," said the lad, "how ashamed I 
shall feel when I grow to be a man. I shall have to 
tell my little boy that my father did not go in the 
army." 

A few months later his father did enlist, and served 
until the close of the war. 

CHARLES BASSETT 

was a native of Pittsfield, born about 1S45, ^ ^°" ^^ 
Samuel and Sarah (Cram) Bassett. In 1S62 he 
enlisted as a recruit for the Second New Hampshire 
volunteers, and was mustered into Company B 
September 10, and became one of tlie best soldiers in 
that famous company. He reiinlisted February 19, 
1864, and served until the close of the war. He now 
resides at Hampstead, N. H. 

JAY P. BASSETT, 

like his brother spoken of above, was a native of 
Pittsfield. Being younger he did not enlist until 
December 24, 1863. He became a member of Com- 
pany H, Fourth New Hampshire volunteers, and 
served with that regiment until the close of the war. 
He is now living at Fremont, N. H. 

CHARLES H. BERRY. 

State lines did not control enlistments. Men from 
New Hampshire, for various reasons, entered the 
service in regiments from other states. Charles H. 
Berry was one of these. He was a son of John C. 
and Sarah A. (Bean) Berry, born in Pittsfield, and 
had always lived in town until the war broke out, 
when 4ie entered the Fortieth Massachusetts in- 
fantrv. 



CHARLES T. RATCHELDER. 33 

CAI.VIN BERRY, 

a brotlier of the above, also a native of this town, 
enlisted at the same time, and in the same company, 
with his brother. I have been unable to learn any- 
thing further regarding these two men. 

GEORGE W. BP:RRY, 

a younger brother of the above, enlisted in Company 
K, Thirteenth New Hampshire volunteers, was mus- 
tered into service August 14, 1863, and immediately 
joined his regiment in Virginia. He was wounded 
severely June 15, 1864; was taken prisoner and 
carried to Petersburg, and died the next day. 

He was a jovial boy, but well beiiaved towards all. 
In his first engagement, and at nearly the beginning 
of the action, Berry captured a prisoner; as he was 
taking him to the rear, he saw the major of his regi- 
ment, who called out, — 

"That's right; bring your man up here, and I'll 
take care of him." 

" Not by a darned sight," replied Berry, " if you 
want one, go down there and get him ; there are 
plenty more in those bushes," and he indicated 
the place by pointing over his shoulder with his 
thumb. 

CHARLES T. BATCHELDER. 

John Batchelder and his wife, Martha C. (Willard), 
were natives of Loudon. They moved to Northwood, 
where they remained two years. Here their only son, 
Charles T., was born. They returned to Loudon, 
and subsequently moved to Pittsfield, where their son 
learned the trade of shoemaking ; but his taste for 
musical instruments led him to construct violins, of 
which he made ([uite a number. 

He enlisted in Company E, Fourth New Hamp- 
shire regiment, and was mustered into the service 
2* 



34 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

September iS, 1861. While doing guard duty he 
contracted a severe cold, which produced pneumonia, 4 
and he was honorably discharged December 5, 1861. 
He immediately returned home, and died from the 
effects of the disease March 27, 1S63, aged 19 years, 4 
months. 

This being the first death of a soldier in town, 
it created much interest. At his death the military 
guar<l was selected from the citizens of the town who 
could procure a musket. Some of these guns were 
of the old-fashioned flint-lock kind. 

The services were held in the Cono^re^ational 
church, and all the clergymen of the town took part in 
the exercises. 

WILLIAM S. BERRY. 

I have been able to learn but very little regarding 
W. S. Berry. He moved to Pittsfield from Loudon 
some eight or ten years before the war. He owned a 
house on Watson street. His wife was a Miss VVil- 
lard, a sister to Ezra Willard ; he had no children, 
but had adopted a son. He enlisted in Company G, 
Seventh regiment, New Hampshire volunteers, and 
was mustered into service November 23, 1S61. He 
served with his company until his discharge, June 5, 
1863, for disability. He died in Chichester many 
years ago. 

JOHN ED. BROWN. 

In July, 1S60, John E. Brown married Miss Lizzie 
Leeds. He was in the tin business, and had a shop 
on Main street. He was a native of Pittsfield, born 
August 2, 1S34; a son of Lowell and Hannah (Lane) 
Brown. 

He enlisted and was mustered into Company G, 
Fifteenth New Hampshire volunteers, October 11, 
1S62. After he went into camp a son was born to 
him. He served with his regiment until his term ex- 
pired, and was mustered out August 13, 1S63. 



ALBERT F. BERRY. 35 

While at Camp Parapet near New Orleans, he was 
taken sick from exposure, and when the regiment 
moved up the river he was left at the convalescent 
camp, and did not rejoin his company until some time 
in July. 

He is with the Dover Stamping company, Dover, 
N. H. 

ALBERT F. BERRY. 

In October, 1S57, ^ ^^'^^ "^^^ Albert F. Berry, 
while he was engaged in helping his father make 
a survey to bring water from Berry's pond to Pitts- 
field village. From that day he was my boyhood's 
friend, schoolmate, and army comrade ; of a genial 
disposition, he had plenty of friends wherever he 
went. 

He was a son of John and Mary A. (Hogan) 
Berry, born in Pittsfield, September 8, 1841. He 
attended the public schools and Pittsfield academy. 
In 1 86 1 he entered the Chandler Scientific school at 
Hanover. 

One day in August, 1862, while at home on a 
vacation, a friend who had been in the service was 
with him in his father's store. The old man was 
very patriotic, and declared that if he was not more 
than fifty years old he would enlist, as none of his 
family had done so. 

Albert said, "I will enlist, fiither, if you will let me 
leave college." 

" Let you leave college !" roared his parent. " D — n 
it, sir, I will give you five hundred dollars in a minute 
if you will go." 

Albert said nothing, but winking to his friend they 
went to Remick's store, where there was a recruiting 
office, and enlisted. Returning to his father's store he 
said very quietly, " I have enlisted." His father rose 
from his seat, and taking a bunch of keys left the 
room. In about half an hour he returned, and hand- 
ing a bank book to Albert, said in his forceful way, 



36 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

" There, my son, I have put a thousand dollars in the 
bank for you. Now do your duty like a man ; if you 
get injured or are sick come home, I will take care of 
you as long as you live, but damn you, sir, do n't you 
run. Remember, if you get shot in the back don't 
you ever let me see your face again." This admo- 
nition the old man often gave his son before he left 
for the war. 

One day at Long Island we crawled out of our 
"pup" tents, where the rain had kept us for two 
days, to stretch ourselves and dry our clothes by the 
campfire, when the sergeant passed down the street 
with the mail. Among others Albert had a letter 
from home ; after reading it he said, " Father has not 
got over worrving for fear that I shall get shot in the 
back." 

He was mustered into Company G, Fifteenth New 
Hampshire volunteers, October 11, iS'62, as a cor- 
poral, and was soon after promoted to be sergeant, 
and was mustered out with his regiment iVugust 13, 
1863. 

He was of rather spare build, and he had a pale 
complexion. Soon after landing in Louisiana, the 
regiment was inspected by one of those West Point 
officers who thought he had all the knowledge the 
world possessed. Coming to Berry, who stood in his 
place as a file closer, he roared out, " When did you 
come from the hospital, sir?" 

" I came from there this morning, sir," replied 
Berry. 

" Who is your captain.?" demanded the officer. 

" Captain Osgood," Berry answered. 

"Captain Osgood," roared the West Pointer, with 
a look evidently intended to sink that individual into 
the ground, " how dare 30U bring a sick man out on 
inspection ? " 

" I did not know that I had a sick man here," 
replied Osgood. 

Berry, seeing that there was a misunderstanding, 
interposed and said, "I am not sick. You asked 



WILLIAM CAMPBELL. 37 

me wlien I came from the hospital ; I told you this 
morning. I had charge of the sick squad and took 
them over there ; but I am not sick, and have not seen 
a sick day since I was eight years old, when I had the 
measles." 

The West Pointer looked him over, as much as to 
say, ''You are a liar, sir," and passed on. 

Berry stood the trying service finely, never being 
sent to the surgeon during his term of service. He 
was a good soldier and a model officer, very cool 
under fire. During one of the battles at Port Hudson 
his gun became so foul that he could not ram the ball 
down. It stuck fast near the muzzle. Taking his knife 
from his pocket he sat on the ground and began to cut 
it out. Just then one of his comrades was killed. 
Berry threw away his gun, and taking that of the dead 
man continued the fight. 

Although the inspector general considered Comrade 
Berry a sick man, yet he proved to be one of the 
hardiest soldiers. During the siege of Port Hudson, 
which continued forty-six d^ys, and during which 
time he was constantly under fire, when any one of 
his comrades became disabled or exhausted he would 
take his place and do double duty. At one time he 
was on guard for twenty-four hours without being 
relieved, and a large part of the time walking the beat 
of a private who had been obliged to give up from ex- 
haustion. Yet the next day he went into the trenches 
and did a hard day's work with pick and spade, 
although according to army regulations he should 
not have done so. 

He died a few years ago at some fort in British 
America. 

WILLIAM CAMPBELL. 

William Campbell was born in Scotland, and came 
to this country to avoid service in the British army. 
He arrived at Pittsfield in the spring of iS6o, and 
worked for a few months for Sir Moses D. Perkins as 
a farm hand ; then for the late Jeremiah Berry until he 



^S PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

enlisted in Company G, Seventh Regiment New 
Hampshire volunteers, in the summer of iS6i, and was 
killed at Fort Wagner July i8, 1S63. Although no 
record of Mr. Campbell's service is found in the adju- 
tant-general's report he was a hero nevertheless, and 
laid his life upon the altar of his adopted country. 
His comrades relate manv incidents of their camp 
life. 

At one time when he and three others, one of 
whom had lost an eye, were engaged in a friendly 
game of cards, Campbell detected the one-eyed man 
cheating, and he exclaimed in his broad Scotch accent, 
— " I am a man of peace. I seek a quarrel with no 
man ; neither do I intend to be personal, but if I catch 
anybody cheating in this game again, he '11 lose his 
ither ee." 

JOSEPH M. CHESLEY. 

Joseph M. Chesley was born, I think, in Durham, 
N. H. His father died when Joseph was quite young, 
and his mother afterwards married William George, 
a blacksmith in this town. Young Chesley enlisted 
in Company E, Second New Hampsliire volunteers, 
in 1S61 ; he served with this famous battalion until the 
Battle of Gettysburg, when he was killed July 2 or 3, 
1863. Among the many battles in which he was 
engaged, I will mention First Bull Run, Siege of 
Yorktown, W^illiamsburg, Fair Oaks, Savage Station, 
Peach Orchard, Glendale, both battles of Malvern 
Hill, Bristow Station, Second Bull Run, Chantilly, 
Fredericksburg, Wapping Heights, Gettysburg. He 
went through all of these without receiving so much 
as a scratch, only to be killed as above stated. His 
grave is No. 16, Gettysburg cemetery, New Hampshire 
lot, section A. 

WILLARD K. COBB. 

Willard Knight Cobb, for whom the G. A. R. post 
in Pittsfield was named, was a son of John B. and 



WILLARD K. COBB. 39 

Elizabeth (Knight) Cobb, and was born in East Pitts- 
field near Jenness pond, December 6, 1843. When 
he was six years old, in 1849, ^^'^ father bought a 
house on Watson street in the village. Here Willard 
lived, attending school and working at his trade, shoe- 
making, until he enlisted September iS, 1S61, in Com- 
pany E, Fourth New Hampshire volunteers. He 
entered this battalion as a private, afterwards was 
promoted to corporal, then to sergeant. He was with 
the regiment in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, 
North Carolina, and Virginia. He was in over twentv 
engagements, many of them regular battles. He was 
wounded at Drury's Bluti', Va., May 16, 1864. He 
was then on his second term of service, havins: reen- 
listed January 30, 1864. After his wound healed he 
obtained a furlough, came home, and after a short 
visit returned to the army, and in the next engagement 
was killed at Chapin's Farm, Va., September 29, 
1864. 

An old lady, speaking of one of the Revolutionary 
soldiers in this town, said, " He was a good Christian, 
a good soldier, and a good citizen." 

This is the highest eulogy that can be bestowed upon 
any man. Everything is combined in these words. 
But the same remark will apply to Willard Cobb. 
Perhaps he was not a communicant of any church, nor 
a subscriber to any creed, yet he followed the precepts 
of the Christian faith, and, as a boy and young man, 
was wortiiy of all positions to which he was called. 
As a citizen he was exemplary, as a soldier he ranked 
with the best, and it was eminently proper that his 
name should be chosen with which to christen our 
Grand Army post. 

He was a representative of the rank and file, — of the 
men who carried the rifles, who built the fortifications 
and fought the battles, but. alas, got but little of the 
honor and none of the glory. These were reserved 
for the oi^cers of high rank. 

The post has kindly had his picture placed in this 
book. 



40 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 



EDGAR L. CARR. 

One of our best known citizens is Dr. E. L. Carr, 
who was born in Gilmanton, Mav 12, 1841, a son of 
Isaac S. and Lucinda J. (Osgood) Carr. When six 
years old his parents moved to Pittsfield. He worked 
on his father's farm, and attended the town school at 
''Upper City" and Pittsfield academy. At the acade- 
my he ranked among the best for scholarship. He 
devoted a large portion of his time to the study of 
Latin, to fit himself for his chosen profession, and at- 
tained great proficiency in tlie use of the language. 
In iS6i a large class was formed under the precept- 
orship of Dr. John Wheeler for the study of medi- 
cine. Carr was one of this class. 

In 1S62, however, he laid aside his books, and 
enlisted in Company G, Fifteenth New Hampshire 
volunteers, and soon after he was made hospital stew- 
ard, and served in this capacity until his regiment 
was mustered out August 13, 1863. 

At Camp Parapet, La., he was taken sick with 
malaria, yet when his regiment went up the river to 
take part in the capture of Port Hudson, so anxious 
was he to relieve his suffering comrades that he went 
with them, and performed his duties through that 
long and terrible siege of forty-six days, .his regi- 
ment being constantly under fire. When he reached 
home he was so reduced in strength that he could 
hardly walk, but the bracing air of New Hampshire 
soon brouo^ht back in a measure his former visror. 
He then took up his studies where he had laid them 
down, and entered Bowdoin Medical college, whence 
he was graduated in 1864. As all the New Hamp- 
shire regiments were supplied with surgeons he went 
to Boston, and was appointed as assistant surgeon in 
the Twenty-first Massachusetts infantry. He joined 
this regiment at Petersburg. At the end of two 
months, the service of the original members having 
expired, the remaining men were consolidated with 



EDGAR L. CARR. 4 1 

another regiment, and the officers mustered out. 
Carr had hardly reached Boston when he was ap- 
pointed as assistant surgeon in the Thirty-fifth regi- 
ment Massachusetts infantrvi with which he served 
until the close of the war. He was recommended for 
promotion as surgeon with the rank of major, but 
the cessation of hostilities prevented this. When the 
Thirty-fifth Massachusetts regiment was sent home 
there was need of a surgeon in the Twenty-ninth 
Massachusetts infantry, and Carr was appointed to 
the place June 7, 1S65. He served until the regi- 
ment was discharged, July 28, 1S65. 

Comrade Carr kept a diary while he was with the 
last two regiments, and this he kindly placed at my 
disposal, saying that I should find nothing of interest 
in his notes. I would like to place the whole before 
my readers did space permit, but must content myself 
with a few excerpts : 

Sept. 26, 1864. Oflf again for the war! started at 6 : 30 
a. m., for Boston; stopped at the Hancock House. 

Sept. 29. After much trouble and delay succeeded in 
getting my pay, $250.41. [This was for his service in the 
Twenty-first regiment.] 

Sept. 30. Took a furlough, came home, attended a 
levee at Academy hall. 

Monday, Oct. 3. Came back to Boston; got my com- 
mission for three years ; wonder if I shall stay two months 
this time. 

Oct. 4. Started for the front at 2 p. m., rode all night; 
arrived in Washington at 10 : 30 a. m., next day. 

Oct. 5. Went up to aunt's, stopped for dinner, started 
for City Point at 4 p. m. As I write we are having a splen- 
did ride down the river. 

Arrived at Point Lookout at 10 p. m., spread my blanket 
on the deck, had a good sleep. 

Oct. 7. Took the cars, came up to the regiment, found 
them within four miles of the South-side railroad and across 
the Weldon railroad. Saw the steeples in Petersburg on the 
way up. 

Oct. 8. I was aroused from sleep this morning by an or- 
der to be ready to march immediately. The regiment was 



42 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

under arms all day, but did not move. The lines on our left 
were advanced some distance. 

Oct. 9. All quiet along the line except a rebel band we 
heard playing. I held the morning call for the first time ; 
had to have an interpreter all the time for the benefit of the 
Germans who cannot talk English, which makes it rather 
tedious for me. 

Oct. II. Saw John J. Drake, of the Eleventh New 
Hampshire from our town; found him quite disconsolate. 
A conclave of generals near our quarters — Meade, Hancock, 
Parker, Potter, Curtin, Griffin, Ingalls, and Campbell from 
Canada. Considerable firing on our right. 

Friday, Oct. 14. Witnessed a military execution to-day 
— a deserter from the Third Maryland regiment. 

Oct. 20. Had my tent logged up, so it is quite spacious. 

Oct. 23. My tent caught fire, and but for timely help 
should have been homeless quickly. 

Oct. 25. All is in confusion; ready to move at any mo- 
ment. I am going to bed and sleep a short time if we do 
not get ordered up ; where we shall go can only be conject- 
ured. 

Oct. 26. Slept all night. Order to move did not come 
as we expected, but everything is being sent to the rear; 
doubtless we shall move to-night. 

Oct. 27. Aroused by the order to strike tents, at 3 
o'clock a. m ; started about 4 o'clock ; began to rain just 
as we started ; marched around to the left a few miles ; 
held as a support, while the Second and Fifth corps have 
taken the South-side railroad. \^ery hard fighting, but hope 
to be able to hold the road. 

Oct. 28. Was awakened by the firing on the left. The 
Second corps, having been unable to hold the road, went to 
the rear this morning ; the Fifth following ; then one divis- 
ion of negroes, our division being the last. Our brigade, 
and finally our regiment, bringing up the rear, being the last 
to leave the field. The "Johnnies" did not follow us to 
any great distance. Now we are on our old camp ground, 
having completely failed in the undertaking. It is reported 
that Butler has taken Fort Darling. If such be the fact, 
doubtless we have helped some by drawing away the troops. 

Oct. 29. Very busy fixing up camp, getting ready to 
keep house again. The '"Johnnies" are jubilant over our 
defeat ; insulting — asking our boys when we are going to 



EDGAR L. CARR. 43 

take the South-side road again. [The reader will bear in 
mind that the two armies were so near that conversation 
could easily be carried on between them.] 

Sunday, Oct. 30. The chaplain of the Fifty-eighth is 
holding service, while a battery of six guns are drilling di- 
rectly in front of him : quite a contrast. 

Oct. 31. Dressed up in my gay clothes — sash, etc. — for in- 
spection ; mustered for pay. Had my house built to-day, 
moved into it just at dark ; nice little pen — wish I had a 
stove. 

Nov. 2. A cold, rainy, disagreeable day, taking into con- 
sideration the fact that we are in shelter tents with no fire. 

Nov. 3. A rainy, disagreeable day ; been in the tent try- 
ing to keep warm. 

Nov. 4. Cleared oiT this morning ; had a horse race, in 
which I beat. 

Nov. 7. Rainy again to-day ; orders to be in readiness to 
repel a charge from the enemy, which is expected to prevent 
our troops from voting to-morrow. I guess they will get all 
they bargained for if they come. 

Nov. 8. Expected an attack to-day to interfere with the 
voting, but they were too wise to do any such rash thing. 
While the voting was going on our men cheered for Lincoln, 
when the rebels gave three cheers for the devil ; one of our 
men replied through an embrasure, " All right ! you hurrah 
for your man and we '11 hurrah for ours." First heard of 
the death of John J. Drake, which took place last Friday. 

Nov. II. Four "Johnnies" came in, and the medical in- 
spector called. 

Nov. 15. Orders to log up tents looks as though we are to 
remain here this winter. One man cut his leg quite severely. 

Nov. 18. Expect to move soon, — where, is unknown. 

Nov. 19. Much excitement about moving. Nothing is as 
yet revealed. Several Germans got a discharge from the 
war department on account of illegal enlistment. They are 
feeling well pleased. 

Nov. 23. A rainy, gloomy day, strongly reminds me of the 
last Sunday at home. Sundays come and go, and no notice 
is taken of them. 

Nov. 24. Thanksgiving day. Kept in my tent most of 
the time. One of our cooks had some turkey, etcetera, sent 
out, and put it on our table, we were not entirely without 
somethino-. 



44 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

Nov. 25. We received some turkeys from New York, 
apples, etc. 

Nov. 26. Received quite a Thanksgiving donation from 
Boston to-day. 

Nov. 27. Our boys captured a rebel brigadier-general. Had 
quite a dinner to-day ; all of the absent officers were invited. 

Nov. 29. Attended my sick call as usual, when I was sur- 
prised by an order to be in readiness to march at nine o'clock 
and take position on right of the army. Started about eleven 
a. m., marched ten miles, and bivouacked beside the railroad 
below Hancock junction. Built up large tires, and lay down 
to sleep. We are now where there is plenty of firing and 
shelling ; seems very much like last summer. As the colonel 
has no blankets, we turn in together. 

Nov. 30. Marched across the railroad and encamped near 
P'ort Hell ; now building camps for winter quarters, not far 
from the railroad. 

Dec. I. Took a ride with the major down to the old 
camping-ground of the Twenty-first regiment when I was 
with them ; also to the remains of the old fort "which were 
blown up. 

Dec. 3. Great deal of artillery firing ; the colonel and my- 
self have been shovelling on the fortifications. 

Dec. 6. Took a ride with the colonel, called on General 
Hartranft [.-since governor of Pennsylvania] , took lunch 
with him. Like his appearance much ; went upon the house- 
top of his headquarters, and had a look at Petersburg 
through a large glass. Could see the time of day upon the city 
clock — twenty minutes of one. Considerable firing to-night. 

Dec. 7. One man shot in the leg, slight wound ; sent a 
package to Mrs. Drake. 

Dec. 8. lender order to march at a moment's warning. 

Dec. 9. Began to snow, the first of the season. Awaiting 
orders to march ; already dark, still we wait. Things all 
packed up ; expecting every moment to hear the clank of the 
staft' officer's sword as he gallops up with orders to move. 
Gloomy night to march, I assure you! Wind is gaining 
strength as the darkness increases. Ten p. m., still waiting, 
still snowing ; think I will turn in, and run the risk of being- 
routed out. 

Dec. 10. Contrary to expectations slept soundly all night; 
attended the execution by hanging of two deserters ; and 
then waited, in camp, the orders to move, "which came at 



EDGAR L. CARR. 45 

five o'clock p. m. Started immediately, on the Jerusalem 
plank road ; nearly twenty miles — not half the distance be- 
ing accomplished when it began to rain, which with the 
rapidly melting snow made the travelling exceedingly tire- 
some, but the boys stood it nobly. I had a horse, or I 
should never have got through. 

Dec. 1 1 . Find ourselves on the Blackwater river, expect- 
ing to cross on the pontoon bridge which we brought along ; 
but gaining no definite information of the safety of the Fifth 
corps, we return to camp, getting back at nine p. m., mak- 
ing forty miles in twenty-six hours ; pretty well played out. 

Dec. 12. Had a good night's sleep, and feel as good as 
new. The wind arose last night, blowing a tree down upon 
my tent ; did no damage further than to frighten me some. 
(2uite winterishy. Under orders to march again, but many 
of the Thirty-fifth\s officers and men cannot go, on account of 
being used up entirely. 

Dec. 13. Nothing new to-day ; the weather is exceedingly 
cold. Had about lialf of the regiment at surgeon's call this 
morning. No farther orders about moving yet. 

Dec. 15. Several recruits joined us to-day. The unfor- 
tunate man who was to be hung to-morrow has been re- 
prieved by General Meade ; do n't think he will desert 
again. 

Dec. 18. An inspection was ordered to-day, but was in- 
definitely postponed on account of the rain. 

Dec. 19. Went down to the hospital to-day with two men, 
to have them examined for a discharge ; both approved. 

Dec. 20. Got a stand of colors ; they are quite gaudy. 
Several convalescent men returned to-day, so we have nearly 
four hundred men. Can hear the nine o'clock bell in the 
devoted city of Petersburg. 

Dec. 2 1 . Rained nearly all night and most of the fore- 
noon, setting everything afloat ; cleared oft" cold. Hard 
night for the pickets. 

Dec. 24. Thirteen "Johnnies" came in last night ; report 
great distress in their armies. 

Dec. 26. Salute of one hundred guns fired for the capture 
of Savannah. Sent a complaint to the headquarters that our 
men were being cheated out of part of their rations. 

Dec. 27. Our pickets were fired upon when being re- 
lieved ; one man killed, three wounded. 

Dec. 28. Went down to the hospital and assisted to take 



46 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

off a man's leg. Another man wounded to-night, very 
severely ; ball in the right lung, probably fatal. A great 
amount of firing to-night. The scene is much more grand 
than any of the fireworks at home, as those huge shells 
shoot into the air with a tail of fire. 

Dec. 29. Captain Johnston of the Twelfth was up to see 
me ; he was looking first-rate. He is on General Butler's 
staff. Captain Dudley of the Eleventh was with him — a rela- 
tive, I believe. The discharge for my two men came to-day; 
they are feeling happ)' to go home. 

Dec. 31. The last day of 1864, sure as I am a sinner. 

January i, 1865. A happy New Year to you all! By far 
the coldest day we have seen, and I do n't care to see much 
colder. Tried to keep warm, with partial success. 

Jan. 3. Another unfortunate man wounded to-day, not 
severely I trust ; sent report of casualties to Surgeon General 
Dale of Massachusetts. 

Jan. 5. All quiet in the army of the Potomac! Another 
man to be hung to-morrow for desertion. 

Jan. 6. Quite a stormy, rainy day. Attended the execu- 
tion of a deserter from One Hundred Seventy-ninth N. Y. 
Rode up and felt his pulse after he had hung ten minutes ; 
beating sixty per minute. After waiting five minutes found 
his life had ebbed away. Those rivers of life which had 
flowed unceasingly for nearly two score years were now 
stilled forever ; the traitor had expiated his heinous crime 
upon the gallows. Thus perish every traitor! These exe- 
cutions are getting painfully frequent, this being the fourth 
one it has been my lot to witness since I arrived here three 
months ago to-day. 

Jan. 10. Had a " right smart " rain. Both the "Johnnies" 
pickets and our own stacked arms outside the pits, and 
watched each other during the rain. 

Jan. f I. Hope paymaster will come soon ; paid $160 for 
my horse and trappings ; had but $167 ; been living on 
credit too long. 

Jan. 12. Got a bedtick, and filled it with pine leaves ; so 
shall have an easier bed to-night. Very little firing to-day. 

Jan. 13. Went down to the hospital to get some men dis- 
charged. Mud is prolific and disgustingly adhesive, so that 
blacking on boots does not signify. 

Jan. 23. Raining all day, glad to keep under cover. 
Heavy cannonading on the right ; sounds like distant thunder. 



EDGAR L. CARR. 47 

Jan. 24, The firing last night was caused by the enemy 
attempting to run their gun-boats past our fortifications, to 
destroy gov-ernment property at City Point or Bermuda 
Hundred ; they were unsuccessfiil. 

Jan. 27. Medical inspector visited me to day; well pleased 
with looks of the camp. 

Jan. 28. Coldest day I have seen in Dixie. 

Jan. 31. The rebel Vice-president Stephens passed near 
here to-day, on a mission of peace to Washington. 

Feb. 5. A change has come over the scene. Our hereto- 
fore quiet camp is disturbed by the order, " Be ready to 
march at a moment's notice ! " The Fifth corps has started 
down the plank road ; doubtless we shall soon follow. 

Feb. 6. Still in camp under marching orders. The 
ambassadors of peace have returned to-day, having failed, as 
we supposed they would. 

Feb. 7. Heavy cannonading all day in the direction of the 
South-side railroad. 

Feb. 8. Some shelling near the site of the famous mine of 
July last. 

Feb. 9. Pickets sent out to-day, so we shall not have to go 
on this march. We have taken three forts, so our guns com- 
mand the road. 

Feb. 10. Witnessed the execution of a deserter by shoot- 
ing. It may be pretty fun to desert, but I do n't think it is 
pleasant to be caught afterwards. 

Feb. 16. Some cannonading to-day ; one of our men 
wounded. 

Feb. 21. Salute of one hundred guns in honor of Sher- 
man's victories. Rebel deserters come in now by the scores ; 
they say the "Southern Confederacy is played out." Much 
firing in our front. 

Feb. 22. Orders to be ready to repel an attack ; expecting 
an attack to-night. 

Feb. 23. We all were up all night, expecting an attack on 
our front. It is a dark rainy night. Some firing on our 
picket line ; good night for an attack. 

Feb. 24. Some shelling to-day ; thirty-three deserters 
came in last night. 

Feb. 26. Seventy-three deserters came in to-day. Ap- 
pearances indicate that the enemy intend to evacuate Peters- 
burg soon ; hope they will wait until it becomes a little 
warmer. 



4^ PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

March 5. Another expectation of an attack. Think if they 
have the temerity to do so they will be sorely punished. 

March 6. Not many deserters coming in now. They did 
not attack us last night, but may to-night. Commenced to 
have three meals a day, for now [since the paymaster came] 
we have money to buy rations with. 

March 7. The regiment moved into Fort Hell to-day ; a 
bad place ; do n't know whether I shall go in or not. 

March 8. Very rainy all day, making it very disagreeable 
to our boys who are moving. Think I shall live outside 
with my friend and "better half," the quartermaster. 

March g. Went up into the fort to hold sick call ; moved 
our tent up a short distance, somewhat in rear of the fort. 

March 11 . I have nothing to write today ; think it useless 
to try to write under the circumstances. I went out to 
the front line, so could see the rebels very plainly. Twenty 
deserters came into our lines in broad daylight. 

Sunday, March 12. Everything after the same old sort. 
The followers of the army "esteem every day alike;" 
thought to be the best fighting day, I believe. Sermons we 
do n't have in the army, not having heard one since I last 
entered it. The bullets whistle harmlessly over our heads 
to-night. 

March 13. Went, in company with the colonel, to see 
Colonel Harriman of the Eleventh New Hampshire. He is 
a sociable fellow and a good officer. A little muss on 
the picket line this morning. I saw the tongues of flame as 
they leaped forth from the mouths of hostile muskets. 

March 14. Orders to be ready to march. Some think the 
"Johnnies" are evacuating; do n't see it. 

March 15. All surplus baggage sent to City Point; also 
all sutlers. 

March 19. The Eighteenth New Hampshire volunteers 
have come into this division. 

March 20. Saw the best display of shelling of the season; 
no less than 100 were thrown over; some came much nearer 
to me than was agreeable ; no one hurt. 

March 22. Four of our recruits deserted to the enemy last 
night. 

March 25. The rebels under Bushrod Johnson made an 
attack on the First division lines, capturing Fort Stedman ; 
subsequently repulsed with a loss of 2,500 in prisoners, 500 
killed and wounded. Our loss not over 500. 




Asa O. Carr. 

W. K. COBR. 

John J. Drake. 



E. L. Carr. 

W. T. Batchelder. 

Israel Drew. 



EDGAR L. CARR. 49 

March 26. Quiet reigns along the lines which were only 
yesterday in the utmost confusion. The Second corps made 
an attack on the left ; to what extent they were successful 
I am as yet ignorant. 

March 27. General Sheridan arrived here to-day with a 
large detachment of cavalry. Our hospital is filled with 
rebel wounded. 

March 28. Those vicious rebels sent over some more of 
those mortar shells, killing one of Sheridan's cavalry men. 
The Twenty-fourth corps has gone to the left, to join in the. 
attack which is expected in a day or two. Generals Sher- 
man, Sheridan, and Meade met General Grant at City 
Point last night. We expect to hear of great events soon.' 
Quite a skirmish between the pickets this evening. We are 
expecting to be in Petersburg soon. 

March 29. Went down to the hospital. Talked with 
some of the wounded prisoners ; they are treated equally well 
with our own men. Rode over to where the cavalry were en- 
camped a few days. Found a Spencer rifle, a seven-shooter; 
intend to carry it home if possible. The fighting on the left 
has commenced ; results unknown. 

March 30. Some mortar shelling last night ; several in the 
Eighteenth New Hampshire volunteers killed and wounded. 
Heavy cannonading on the left, also the roll of musketry. 
A deserter came into our regiment at noon today. 

March 3 1 . Our brigade intended to make a charge on the 
rebel works on our front, but General Meade getting word of 
it, ordered the troops to repair immediately to their quarters, 
and not to attempt such foolhardiness, such slaughter. No 
authentic news from the left ; fear that we have not gained 
much yet. 

Sunday, April 2. Fighting commenced on our front last 
night at 1 1 o'clock, and continued all night and all day. 
Four of the enemy's forts, and all the guns therein, are in 
our possession ; many prisoners captured. Expect to go 
into Petersburg to-morrow. This has been a bloody day ; 
and the almost incessant roar of huge guns, the shrieking of 
hurtling shells, and the crack of musketry made the day 
appear little like Sunday. 

April 3. A day of rejoicing to the American people, and 
especially to the brave army who have been in the trenches 
around Petersburg and Richmond. Our army took pos- 
session of both places this morning, the rebels evacuating 
3 



50 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

previously. We went through the city of Petersburg ; it 
is a fine place. No Union sentiment was exhibited, except 
among the colored portion. It was gratifying in the extreme 
to go into the city for which we had been striving for ten 
months. General Potter, the commander of our division, 
was badly wounded. President Lincoln rode past today. 
We marched down the South-side railroad about five miles, 
and bivouacked. 

April 4. Started about 7 o'clock, marched twelve miles, 
and bivouacked. Are marching through a pretty country : 
trees are blossoming out, grass is springing up, and we are 
following Lee's army. The number of prisoners captured 
Sunday and Monday was 23,000. 

April 5. Marched eighteen miles to-day, and bivouacked 
in Nottoway county on the South-side. Nothing of interest 
occurred. Are within 20 miles of Burkesville Junction ; 
do n't know what our destination may be. 

April 6. Started at i p. m. for Burkesville; marched 
twenty miles ; the men are nearly tired out. 

April 7. Seven general officers, including Ewell, were 
brought down from the front with 8,000 prisoners ; our regi- 
ment is guarding them. Rebellion just about played out, and 
the war will be over soon. 

April 8. One thousand more prisoners brought in to-day, 
and all sent to the rear; they are very radical in their views. 
Good news from the front. 

April 9. Started this p. m., marched 11 miles on the 
Lynchburg road, and bivouacked. 

April 10. Started at 7 a. m., marched four miles, and en- 
camped at Farmville, Va. News of General Lee's surrender 
with his whole command. The soldiers are jubilant because 
the fighting is over. 

April 1 1 . Bobby Lee passed through here to-day on his 
parole of honor, en route for Petersburg. General Grant 
gone to Washington. Our army is falling back to Burkes- 
ville. General Meade is in town ; gave a ball this evening, 
which I attended. 

April 12. Troops moving back to Burkesville. Rebel army 
have been paroled, and sent to their homes. Made a call on 
Mrs. Venable and daughter. 

April 1 5 . The baggage came up to-day ; so we got a 
change of clothing, which we very much needed. 

April 16. Attended church to-day for the first time in six 



EDGAR L. CARR. 5 1 

and a half months. Citizen preached; spoke very well for 
the Union. Vague rumor that Lincoln has been assassi- 
nated. 

April 20. Marched from Farmville to Burkesville Junction, 
distance, 18 miles. Are going to City Point; from there 
expect to go to Washington. 

April 21. Marched 18 miles; quite hard marching; I 
should be tired out if I had not a horse. 

April 22. Marched to Loveland station, distance of 20 
miles. 

April 23. Marched into Petersburg and bivouacked on 
Cemetery hill. [Comrade Carr went to City Point, then on 
transports up to Washington.] 

April 28. Arrived safely at Alexandria at 2 p. m. ; en- 
camped about two miles out of town. General Johnson has 
surrendered, and Booth is killed. W^e lost one man on our 
passage ; he fell overboard, and was drowned. 

May 8. Got a tent for myself. 

May 12. My birthday, 24 years old; getting to be an old 
man. 

May 18. We are having more sickness here than when we 
were in the front, but are in no danger of being shot. 

May 22. Started at 6 a. m. for Washington, marched 
about a mile east of the capitol, and bivouacked for the night. 

May 23. Passed in review to-day, and got back to camp 
about played out. The soldier boys did not enjoy it quite as 
much as the' thousands of citizens did who witnessed it. 

May 24. Went to Washington to see Sherman's army 
pass. Saw any quantity of generals — Grant, Sherman, 
Howard, Slocum, Logan, Blair, Davis, Meade, Hancock, 
Augur, Meigs. 

May 27. Nothing to do! This is the greatest loafing I 
ever did. Keep two horses and a servant ; who would n't be 
an assistant surgeon? 

May 29. All are busy making out their muster-out rolls. 
I do n't know whether I shall go home now, or not. I have 
offered to remain if I am needed. Expect to go into the 
Twenty-ninth Massachusetts Veteran volunteers. 

June 4. The Eleventh New Hampshire started for home 
this p. m. I somewhat expect to be transferred to the 
Twenty-ninth. 

June 7. Appointed assistant surgeon of the Twenty-ninth 
Massachusetts volunteers ; shall join them to-morrow. 



52 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

June 9. Came over to the Twenty-ninth; marched out 
about two miles, and bivouacked for the night. Saw Enoch 
Joy ; he is expecting to go home soon. 

June 1 1 . The Eighteenth New Hampshire left for home 
this a. m., feeling very well. 

June 15. Took a ride up to Fort Sumner, garrisoned by 
Companies E and G, First New Hampshire heavy artillery ; 
saw several acquaintances. They were mustered out this 
p. m. ; expect to start for home tomorrow. 

The diary of Comrade Carr continues until July 
28, when he was finally mustered out. The only 
item of general interest was that on July 7, 1S65, he 
went to Washinofton to see the assassins of President 
Lincoln hung, but he failed to gain admittance. 

ASA O. CARR. 

Asa O. Carr, a brother of Edgar L. Carr, was born 
in Gilmanton, October 31, 1S42. When five years of 
age his parents moved to Pittsfield, and Asa lived with 
them, working on his father's fiirm until he enlisted 
August 16, 1862. He attended the public school at 
"• Upper City" and a private school kept by the Rev. 
H o se a Qli i m by . 

He was mustered into Company F, Twelfth New 
Hampshire volunteers, the fifth of the following Sep- 
tember. He served with his company until the Battle 
of Gettysburg, and during that time was never sick 
nor excused from duty. 

On the 13th of December, 1863, the Battle of Fred- 
ericksburg was fought, and his company was sent to 
support a battery in the streets of that city. After the 
defeat of our forces two companies of the regiment, of 
which Company F was one, were detailed to cover 
a part of the retreat of the army, and were forgotten 
by the officers. After the rest had crossed the river 
they v^'cre remembered, and under cover of a heavy 
fog an officer came back and found them. He told 
them to run for their lives towards the bridge. Just 
as they reached it, the fog lifted and they were discov- 



ASA O. CARR. 53 

ered by the rebels, who opened fire upon them. Such 
running as those boys made has seldom been excelled. 
The last one reached the bridge just as the pontoons 
were loosed and the bridge swung down the river. 

While at Falmouth, opposite Fredericksburg, Pres- 
ident Lincoln, and Governor Berry of New Hamp- 
shire, paid them a visit. 

Then came Burnside's famous mud march. Soon 
after the army was in motion it began to rain ; it 
came down in torrents, the roads were quagmires of 
sticky mud, the army could not move either way. 
After a wiiile the rain ceased, and then came the 
heavy labor of building a road of logs so that the army 
could once more get on solid ground. 

On May 3, 1S63, was the Battle of Chancellorsville. 
In this engagement Carr was hit in the leg by a piece 
of shell ; a bullet struck him in the ankle, and after 
cutting his stocking more than half off, lodged in his 
boot. His cap was blown off by the discharge of a 
rifle in the hands of a careless comrade. 

After this fight the regiment went back to its old 
camp at Falmouth. During the last days of June they 
received orders to march, and started north in the 
great race with Lee's army. On July i they were at 
Emmetsburg, some fifteen miles from Gettysburg. 
Quite late in the afternoon they got orders for a forced 
march, and started at once, guided by a Pennsylvania 
farmer. Just at dark they ran into the rebel picket, 
and had to make a wide detour to get around the rebel 
army. It was twelve o'clock at night before they 
could stretch themselves on the ground, where they 
slept soundly until daybreak. After drinking a cup 
of cofiee, and eating a hasty breakfast of hard bread as 
they marched along, they arrived in line of battle just 
at sunrise on the now historic field of Gettysburg. 
This was July 2, 1S63. This regiment was stationed 
on the Emmetsburg road, but was not engaged until 
about 4 p. m. A few minutes later a ball struck Carr's 
belt-buckle with such force as to knock him over; he 
was helped to his feet by Lieutenant French, and as 



54 PITTSFIELD TN THE REBfiLLtON. 

soon as he regained his breath, the regiment fell back 
a few rods. Soon came that order most difficult to 
execute while under fire, '•' Change front to the rear !" 
Carr had just loaded his rifle and had about-faced 
without bringing it to a shoulder, when he was struck 
by a Minie ball in the shoulder. The bullet passed 
through his right lung and shattered two of his ribs. 
He crawled away a short distance, and soon after saw 
his regiment pass along to enter the tight. He tried 
calling to them, but was too weak to make them hear. 
Just then an officer rode up, and Carr asked him to 
call George H. Sanborn (of Pittstield) who was still 
in sight, to help him oti'. The oificer asked if he was 
wounded. Carr replied that he was, very badly. 
The officer sat in thought for a moment, then said, 
'' We can't spare a man : we need every one," and 
galloped away. All night long Carr laid on the field 
without food or drink. The thirst that comes to all 
wounded men tortured him, and he had no means of 
allaying it. At last, the next day, he was taken to the 
field hospital, where he remained a month ; from there 
he went to Baltimore, and still later was given a thirty 
days' furlougii. He came home, arriving at his 
father's house October lo. His furlough was extended 
for thirty days longer, and at length, January 4, 1S64, 
he was discharged. 

Several pieces of bone came from his shattered 
shoulder and ribs. These he has, with his canteen, 
testament, and cap — there is a hole made in the last 
by his comrade's bullet, — as mementos of the davs he 
went soldiering. 

While at Falmouth, just before entering the Battle 
of Fredericksburg, Carr and some comrades got a 
kettle of potatoes from a house and built a fire to cook 
them, wlien a cannon ball from the enemy knocked 
the kettle over ; so thev had to leave the potatoes on 
the ground. The night before, their blankets froze to 
the ground on which the boys slept. 

Comrade Carr has been a resident of this town since 
his discharge. 



JOHN H. CHASE. 55 

JOHN CATE. 

Mr. Gate was an old man, too old in fact to go to 
the war, but by the use of hair dye, etc., he managed 
to elude the vigilance of the mustering officer, and 
enlisted in Company G, Fifteenth regiment. New 
Hampshire volunteers. Although his hair grew 
white very fast, he performed his duties like a good 
soldier. Before the first battle of Port Hudson he 
gave away all of his little property tiiat he had with 
him, saying that he should have no further use for it. 
That day. May 27, 1863, he was wounded, and died 
at Baton Rouge, La., June 8, 1S63. 

I have been unable to learn that Mr. Gate had any 
family. While in Pittsfield he worked as a ftirm hand 
in the eastern part of tlie town. He was a son of 
Eben Gate, was bom in Ghichester, and was grandson 
of Deacon John Gate, one of the most prominent men 
of Ej^som. 

JOHN H. CHASE. 

John H. Ghase was a member of Gompany G, Fifth 
New Hampshire volunteers. He was mustered into 
service October 12, 1861, at Concord. He served 
with his regiment until his discharge, February 7, 
1863. I have been unable to learn much about his 
career. He was a son of Perley Ghase, who owned a 
farm on the Catamount road. His mother was Sophia 
Garland, who died when John was quite small, and 
he ever after made his home with his grandmother 
Garland, on Main street in the village. I have been 
unable to learn if this soldier is still living. 

A certain captain, whose name for obvious reasons 
I will not mention, was a very rapid and very poor 
penman. One day he sent one of his men to the 
quartermaster for something, telling the man what he 
wanted, in addition to making out the requisition. 
He also took occasion to write a note to the quarter- 
master on some private matter. 



5^ PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

near Petersburg, Va. Mr. Drake was found dead in 
his tent on the morning of November lo, 1864. He 
was buried in the Ninth corps burying-ground, near 
the terminus of City Point railroad. 

He was born in Pittsfield, February 20, 1829, and 
was a son of Ebenezer T. and Abigail (Berry) Drake. 
He was educated in our public schools and academy, 
and always resided in town, — except for a short time 
when he was at work in Dorchester, Mass., as a 
gardener. 

His father died when he was a mere lad, and his 
mother, with that energy that is characteristic of her 
sons, took the management of the farm, and when 
John had grown to manhood he carried on the farm 
for his mother. 

Owing to some obscure disease when a child, he 
lost his hearing, which was always a great affliction 
to him. He was anxious to enter the army, but knew 
it was useless to volunteer, as he would not be 
accepted. But one night he was notified that he had 
been drafted. He ran across the fields and waked his 
brother up, saying that now he could serve his 
country, and he hoped to be accepted ; and so he was, 
much to the surprise of his townsmen. But army life 
did not agree with him. He soon contracted chronic 
diarrhoea, that scourge of all armies, and died as 
above indicated, aged 35 years and 8 months. He 
had been in the service hardly five months, as the 
records show that he was mustered in June 20, 
1S64. 

JUSTUS C. DRAKE 

was a son of James S. Drake, who was a grandson of 
Major James Drake, one of the first settlers of Pitts- 
field. Major Drake held the office of surveyor under 
King George II, a very important office in those 
days. It v/as a similar position that George Wash- 
ington held in Virginia at about the same time. 
Major Drake made a survey of this and some of the 
neighboring towns, and all deeds of land in town are 



MOSES E. JDOW. 59 

based upon his survey. Justus C. Drake was pos- 
sessed of that genial disposition for which the Drake 
family are noted. He enlisted in Troop B, First New 
Hampshire cavalry, commanded by Otis C. Wyatt, 
and was mustered into service March 29, 1864. He 
was captured by the rebels June 29, 1864, and was 
taken to Andersonville, Ga., where he died of starva- 
tion, August 14, 1864. His grave is No. 5,577. 

Coin me a word, for the English language contains 
no terms in which to speak of the heroic conduct of 
the men who had rather suffer death by starvation 
than betray the confidence which their country had 
reposed in them, by enlisting in the ranks of the 
enemy. We sing the praises of the commanding 
officer who from a safe distance directs the men who 
win the victories. Cannot we say something of the 
rank and file who met death by starvation in order to 
make these victories possible? I confess that my 
spirit bows in humble adoration to their memory. 

MOSES E. DOW. 

" Emery" Dow was born in that part of Pittsfield 
known as Dowboro. About 1849 his father moved to 
the village, where at first he kept a store, and later 
owned a livery stable. Emery developed a love for 
horses, which determined his occupation. When the 
war broke out he wanted to go into the cavalry, so 
when the New England cavalry was organized he 
joined the New Hampshire battalion of that regiment, 
and was mustered in as a private, December 24, 
1861, in Troop M. A few months later he was 
promoted to be corporal, and was discharged for dis- 
ability January 2, 1863. His father was Moses Dow, 
his mother before marriage was Betsey Jones. His 
home is in Center Harbor, N. H. 



6o PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 



JOHN L. DREW 

was born in Qtiincy, Mass., September 7, 1840, and 
was a son of John P. and Mary VV. Drew. He 
removed to Straftbrd, N. H., with his parents, where 
he liv^ed until he was nineteen years of age. He then 
came to Pittsfield and worked at his trade, shoe mak- 
ing, until he enlisted, September 10, 1862, being at 
that time 22 years of age. He was assigned to 
Company G, Fifteenth New Hampshire volunteers. 
He was mustered into the United States service 
October 11, 1862, for the period of nine months; was 
mustered out August 13, 1863, by reason of expiration 
of term of service. 

He reenlisted in 1864, and was mustered into Com- 
pany K, First New Hampshire heavy artillery, on the 
second da}' of September, for the period of one year, 
or during the war. Was discharged June 5, 1865, at 
Washington, D. C, by reason of General Order No. 
5 (close of the war). 

During his first enlistment he was engaged in both 
battles at Port Hudson, besides taking part in the 
siege of that place, which lasted from May 27 until 
July 8, 1863. On the evening of the first battle, a call 
for volunteers to go on advance picket was issued, and 
young Drew was one of the number who presented 
himself and was accepted. During the siege he was 
always ready to carry rations to those on picket duty 
or working in the trenches, when others declined the 
risk. One night, while his company were engaged 
in undermining the citadel of Port Hudson, Drew 
was engaged in carrying food and drink to his com- 
rades, when a shell burst, knocking him over; he 
was taken up for dead, but soon recovered after 
reaching camp. He was very handy in caring for 
the sick and wounded — a natural nurse — and many a 
poor soldier has reason to remember him for this. 
He was standing near Lieutenant-Colonel Henry W. 
Blair, since United States senator, when the latter 



JOHN H. DOW. 6 1 

was wounded, and he at once produced a tourniquet 
to place on the officer's arm. 

During his second term of service he was assigned 
to a responsible position in the quartermaster's depart- 
ment, the duties of which he performed to the satis- 
faction of his superior officers, and credit to himself. 
He is now living near Barnstead Center, N. H. 

GEORGE W. DAVIS 

was a well known musician in town for several years 
before the war. Early in iS6i he enlisted in Com- 
pany E, Fourth regiment, New Hampshire volunteers, 
and followed the fortunes of that grand battalion until 
he was taken prisoner. He reenlisted, after nearly 
three years' service, February 20, 1S64; had a short 
furlough, during which he came home to see his 
friends for the last time. In almost the first fight 
after his return he was taken prisoner and carried 
to Belle Isle, and from there was taken to Anderson- 
ville. Here, reduced in strength by starvation, he 
was robbed of his last cent and thrown out of his rude 
shelter. He was soon removed to Savannah, but 
after the fall of Atlanta he was taken to Charleston, 
and with other prisoners placed where they would 
receive the fire of our guns, the rebels hoping to 
protect their city in this way. Finding that this 
would not work, he with others was taken to the fair 
grounds, and from there to Florence, N. C. Here 
he was paroled and sent north. He died at Annapo- 
lis, Md., fron the efiects of starvation. 

He was a native of Barnstead, a son of Moses and 
Mary J. (Colby) Davis. He came to Pittsfield about 
1S54, ^^^^ married Miss Martha Fullerton. He had 
two children, a son and a daughter, when he en- 
listed. 

JOHN H. DOW, 

son of Benjamin W. and Mary A. (Evans) Dow, was 
born in Gilmanton, May 3, 1S44. I have been un- 



62 PITTSFIELD tN THE REBELLION. 

able to learn when he came to Pittsfield. He was 
mustered into Company F, Twelfth New Hampshire 
volunteers, September 5, 1S63. At Falmouth, he 
was sick with small pox. He took part in all of the 
engagements in which his regiment was engaged up 
to the investment of Petersburg. He was detailed as 
a sharpshooter, and a very good one he made. In 
speaking of him, his captain says that he was restive 
under military discipline, but was a good soldier, 
especially wiien he could rely on himself, as a sharp- 
shooter must. He is now, I understand, a resident 
of Lakeport. 

ISRAEL DREW 

was born in Madbury, N. H., October 25, 1795, en- 
listed in the War of 1S12, and was stationed at Ports- 
mouth. After his return home in 1S16 he married 
Miss Nancv Avers of Barnstead. In 1S29 he moved 
to Pittsfield, where he lived until the breaking out of 
the rebellion. Being a young looking man, although 
66 years of age, he passed muster as only 44. He 
was mustered into Companv G, Eighth New Hamp- 
shire volunteers, December 23, 1S61. He was with 
the regiment at Manchester, Fort Independence, Ship 
Island, where he was as prompt to do his dutv as the 
younger men, but the climate undermined his strong 
constitution and he died at Camp Parapet, La., 
August 22, 1S62. He was without doubt the oldest 
man that enlisted from the entire North. 

jMr. Drew was a hard-working man, with quick 
wit and an answer always readv. He never over- 
came his repugnance to the use of tobacco, the smoke 
of it making him deathly sick. One day he went 
into a lawyer's office where several people were smok- 
ing. He started to go out, but was so giddy he fell to 
the foot of the stairs. Some one ran to help him and 
exclaimed, *' Why, Mr. Drew, did you fall? " 

'"• Fall I No. The bottom stair fiew up and hit me 
in the face," replieil the injured man. 



ISRAEL DREW. 6;^ 

General Butler in his book (page 481), speaking of 
the health of his troops in July, 1S62, says: "Indeed, 
there were some regiments who could not bring into 
line more than two hundred men." And these troops 
had not been in the service on an averasfe of over 
eight months. 

So abrupt and complete a change in all the con- 
ditions of life consequent upon the translation of New 
England men from the bracing air of a northern 
winter to the enervating climate of the Gulf of Mexico, 
a change intensified by the ovenlike heat between 
sun and sand, unrelieved by shade of tree or the sight 
of a green growing thing to refresh the strained and 
dazzled eye, could not fail to have a profoundlv un- 
favorable effect upon their constitutions. 

The food, though abundant and of excellent quality 
for strong men, was far from the requirements of the 
sick. A healthy and hungry man could live well 
upon the bread, beef, and pork that were issued as 
rations. But when a man began to be sick, and to 
have a poor or capricious appetite and enfeebled 
digestion, he must either continue to live upon the 
regular ration or go without; for there was no supply 
of meat juices and other nourishments adapted to a 
weakened stomach. So many and many a poor 
fellow, loathing the hard-tack and salt-horse, did go 
without until he grew weaker and weaker, and too 
weak to rally, and finally he went under the sand. 

The Sanitary and Christian Commissions doubtless 
did a grand work for the sick soldiers, but their good 
tilings were mostly distributed to the general hospi- 
tals, while the sick in regimental hospitals and in 
quarters fiiiled to receive what they needed when they 
needed it most, and so hundreds and hundreds of poor 
boys succumbed to what amounted to actual starva- 
tion. 

Add to this what may seem to be largely a senti- 
mental and unnecessary factor, but which actually 
proved to be a very powerful influence to increase the 
death record — homesickness. Scores and hundreds of 



64 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

the boys, reduced by sickness and lack of nourish- 
ment, only needed this additional depressing influence 
to turn the scale against them. 

Every man had to pass through the scourge of 
camp diarrhoea. None were exempt, but some suffered 
more than others. Many never recovered from it. 
Others suflered and died from diseases that seized 
upon a system debilitated and deprived of its power 
to resist disease by this bane of army life. 

The sinks were established on the shore below the 
line of high tide, and a fourth of a mile or more from 
the camps. No one who witnessed it will ever forget 
the melancholy procession of living skeletons who, 
day and night, staggered and tottered back and forth 
between camp and sink, many of wiiom were obliged 
to stop and rest by the way and turn back and repeat 
the weary journey ere they had time to rest themselves 
in tlieir tent. 

Later on diphtheria appeared, and made short work 
of the debilitated systems of the men. This dread 
disease attacked us in its malignant form and carried 
off its victims inside of twenty-four hours in many 
cases. I do not remember a single case of recoverv 
from this disease. Some cases that occurred after we 
went to the mainland, and had the benefit of the New 
Orleans market, recovered ; but only to be prostrated 
with paralysis for long months afterwards. 

The next horror that came upon us was the scurvy 
— sufficient proof of my statement in regard to the 
lack of proper food. Men's teeth would turn black 
as charcoal, loosen, and drop out of their heads. 
Purple-and-black spots would appear on bodv and 
limbs, from which the blood would ooze out in drops. 
Inflamed and spongy gums would bleed upon the slight- 
est touch. The whole mass of the blood would become 
thin, watery, and devitalized. The flesh seemed to rot 
alive, and when death closed the scene, the miserable, 
half-decomposed body would have to be hurried under 
the ground as soon as possible. The funeral proces- 
sion, the muflled drum, the volley of musketry over the 



ISRAEL DREW. 65 

soldier's grave were daily and almost hourly sights 
and sounds. 

No wonder that tiie poor boys, far from home and 
friends, when taken sick would lose courage, give up 
to the fatal depression of homesickness, and die of dis- 
eases that at home, and with all that that means, 
would be considered trivial and easily recovered 
from. 

The above may be called a gloomy picture, but it is 
far within the truth and fails to portray the actual hor- 
rors of the situation. Many times it has been said 
that, next to the rebel prison-pens, the hardest place 
that our boys were placed in was Ship Island. 

On the afternoon of the 17th we began to hear 
occasional heavv Sfuns afar oft\ Graduallv the sounds 
increased, and for six days and nights we listened to 
the incessant roar of heavy artillery. Sleep was out 
of the question. Even at our distance the earth trem- 
bled and shook with the awful concussions, as if the 
world were being rent and pulverized by ten thousand 
earthquakes. 

Through the night of the 23d, when the fleet ran by 
the forts below New Orleans, it seemed as if all the 
thunders and convulsions of heaven, earth, and hell 
were let loose at once. We could only listen in won- 
der and suspense. Contradictory reports of the con- 
flict reached us. At one time we were told that our 
fleet and army were beaten, sunk and dispersed, and 
that we might expect the rebel fleet down upon us at 
any moment. At another, that our forces had achiev- 
ed a partial success. 

When we learned beyond a doubt of the splendid 
victory of Farragut, and tliat the forts, the great city, 
and the mouth of the '' Father of Waters" were act- 
ually in the possession of our army and navy, our 
gratitude and enthusiasm knew no bounds, and we 
felt that the suffering and death on Siiip Island were 
measurably compensated by the brilliant success of 
the Union arms. 



66 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 



JAMES R. C. DAVIS. 

I think Comrade Davis was a native of Barnstead. 
He was a painter by trade. He was married and had 
two children. He enlisted and was mustered into 
Company G, Seventh regiment, New Hampshire 
volunteers, November 23, 1S61. He served with his 
regiment until the Battle of Olustee, Florida, when he 
was wounded and captured, February 20, 1S64. 

After remaining a prisoner two months he managed 
to escape, and rejoined his command, April 20, 1864. 
Speaking of this battle his commanding officer says 
that just one half of this company were taken prisoners 
at that time, and Davis was the only one who ever re- 
turned ; all the rest died in prison, most if not all of 
them at Andersonville. Tne story of Andersonville 
has been told and re-told by more able pens than 
mine, nor would it come within the scope of this book 
to tell it here. Of all the men from this town who 
were confined in that prison, not one has ever returned 
to tell the horrible story. 

Comrade Davis is in the shoe business at Ayer, 
Mass. 

JOSEPH C. DENNETT. 

Joseph C. Dennett was a son of Moses B. and Eliz- 
abeth C. (Small) Dennett. He was born in Pittsfield, 
December 20, 1S2S. He enlisted in Company E, of 
the Fourth New^ Hampshire volunteers, in 1861. He 
was soon promoted to be color corporal, and still later 
made a sergeant. He was wounded in a skirmish 
near Hilton Head in 1S62. After serving: with his 
regnnent in South Carolina for nearly three years, he 
was taken sick with chronic diarrhoea and sent to the 
hospital at Hilton Head, where he died in January, 
1864. He left a wife and three children when he en- 
listed, only one of whom survives, Alonzo Dennett, 
of Sutton, Vt. • 



CHARLES E. DENNETT. 67 



DIXI C. DENNETT 

is a brother of the above, born November 19, 1826 ; 
came to Pittsfield with the family. He married Miss 
Sarah Nutter, and had four children when he enlisted 
in Company G, Fifteenth New Hampshire volunteers. 
Served with his company until he was taken sick at 
Camp Parapet, and sent to the hospital. Rejoined 
his regiment after the surrender of Port Hudson, and 
came home with them, and was mustered out at Con- 
cord, August 13, 1863. 

His post-office address is Milton Mills, N. H. 

JEREMIAH W. DENNETT 

was born November 7, 1824, in Gilmanton. Pie 
was a brother of the preceding. When he was about 
fifteen years old the family moved to Pittsfield. 
After a short time they went to Portsmouth, then to 
Rochester, afterwards to Holderness, then to Pitts- 
field, where Comrade Dennett lived until he en- 
listed. 

He married in 1846 Sophia Nelson, by whom he 
had eight children. His business was that of teamster 
and fiumer. He was mustered into the United States 
service, September 5, 1S62, as wagoner of Company 
F, Twelfth regiment. New Hampshire volunteers, 
and was employed in this capacity during his entire 
term of service. The only time he was excused from 
duty was for about two weeks at Falmouth, Va., in 
the winter of 1863. He has always made his home 
in Pittsfield since his return from the army. 

CHARLES E. DENNETT 

was born in Pittsfield, September 10, 1847. He is a 
son of Jeremiah W. Dennett. He attended school in 
town, and worked for various parties until he enlisted. 
He received the name of "Commodore," from the fact 



68 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

that be was the only man to enter the navy from this 
town. He entered in the service as a marine, June 
1 6, 1864, and served on board the Sabine^ first at 
Portland, later on the Potomac and James rivers. He 
discharged his duties as " Captain of the Head," with 
credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his superior 
officers. He is now an inmate of the Soldiers' Home 
at Tilton. 

W. H. DAVIS. 

In a small house standing at the corner of Depot 
and Bank streets in Pittsfield, William H. Davis was 
born. He was a son of William and Shuah (Evans) 
Davis, and lived with his parents, attending school 
and working in his father's shop as a boot-maker, un- 
til he enlisted in Companv H, Fourth New Hampshire 
volunteers. He was mustered into service, Septem- 
ber 18, 1 861, and served with his regiment until No- 
vember 3, 1862, when he was transferred to the First 
U. S. artillery. Here he served the remainder of his 
term. It would be needless to sa}^ that he was a good 
soldier, for none but the very best could be transferred 
from volunteer infantry to the regular artillery. He 
was killed in a railroad accident in 1866. 

One day while in Florida, I think, Davis w^ent to a 
public house to get dinner. The wash basin was on 
a shelf in the porch, beside it was a bucket of 
water with a gourd dipper, over the shelf hung a dirty 
rag for a towel. Davis called out, '"Here, landlord, 
can't you give us a clean towel .'^" "I reckon so," 
said that individual, as he arose from the bench on 
which he was reclining, and shuflfled across the house 
floor. He got the desired article, and as he handed it 
to Davis, remarked, "Yuse'un is the most mighty 
particular man I ever seed. I reckon that ar towel 
has hung there three months, and more than five hun- 
dred men have wiped on it, and you are the fust one 
to find fault with it." 



ALBERT C. EVANS. 69 



ALBERT C. EVANS 

was a carpenter by trade. He was born in Barnstead, 
May 13, 1S41, a son of William C. and Martha J. G. 
(Carr) Evans. He moved to Pittsfield in 1850, attend- 
ed our town schools and the academy. He enlisted 
in Company F, Twelfth New Hampshire volunteers, 
and was made corporal, September 5, 1S63. 

He was wounded in the hand and lost a finger at 
the Battle of Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863. He was 
very cool under fire. When our lines were driven 
back in this engagement, Evans got behind a tree to 
give one more shot to the advancing enemy. As Cap- 
tain Bartlett passed him, Evans called out, " I say, 
Asa, this is real old business," a favorite expression of 
his. He was promoted to sergeant, November 7, 
1863. He was also with this regiment at the Battle of 
Fredericksburg. 

So well had he conducted himself in every position 
in which he was placed, that he was discharged from 
the Twelfth by order of General Butler, to accept a 
commission in the First United States volunteers. This 
was composed of men who had been taken prisoners, 
and who had become tired of fighting against their 
country, and were willing to enlist under the old flag, 
provided that they should not be called upon to fight 
their old comrades in arms. They were known among 
our troops as ''Galvanized Yanks," and were to be 
sent West, where if they were taken prisoners they 
would not be recognized ; for, according to the laws 
of war, if caught they would be shot. 

Evans joined this regiment at Norfolk, Va., and 
soon afterwards was sent to Chicago, and from there 
he w^ent with his command to Camp Reno in Missou- 
ri, and did provost duty at headquarters of General 
Pope. The rebels had sent men among the Indians 
of the Northwest to stir them into a revolt, and soon 
Evans was sent to Fort Snelling in Minnesota. From 
there he went to Fort Wadsworth, Dakota, where he 



70 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

remained through the winter until the spring of 1S65, 
when he was transferred to Fort Ambercrombie. 
While crossing Dakota mountains, piloted by an In- 
dian who lost the way, the entire command came very 
near freezing to death. His next place was St. Paul, 
Minn. From here he was sent to St. Cloud, where 
the savages were killing our settlers and burning their 
dwellings. He was the first man to enter that place 
after the massacre. After the Indians had been driven 
off, he was sent to Fort Wadsworth, and from there 
to ,Fort Leavenworth ; then he was sent on to the 
plains and built Fort Fletcher, and remained through 
the winter gruarding the mail route to Denver. The 
time of this regiment having expired, he proceeded to 
Fort Leavenworth, where he was discharged May 10, 
1S66. During his services with this command, Cap- 
tain Evans (for such was his rank) had many skir- 
mishes with the Indians, and in every engagement he 
was a prudent and brave officer. He was, I believe, 
the last man from Pittsfield to be mustered out of the 
United States service. 

Comrade Evans is now a resident of Havre de 
Grace, Md. 

JOHN S. EATON. 

One of the best known citizens in this section of the 
state was John S. Eaton, a native of Pittsfield, who 
always resided in town until he enlisted and was mus- 
tered into Company E, Eighth New Hampshire vol- 
unteers, December 21, 1861. The first duty to which 
he was assigned was to select the horses for the use of 
the regiment. He had the care of these as long as he 
was able to do duty. I remember that soon after my 
discharge at Ship Island in 1862, while lying in a tent 
on the sand of that barren island, Mr. Eaton walked 
two miles in the broiling sun to send a message home 
to his wife and child, and when the soldiers came to 
carry me aboard the vessel, I being unable to walk, 
he walked by my side and bade me good-bye at the 
gang plank. Poor fellow, he was sick at that time 



CHARLES F. EATON. 7 1 

and never recovered, for soon after he w^as discharged 
and started for home. When off the coast of the Car- 
oHnas he died, and his body, sewed in his blanket, was 
buried at sea. His wife w^as Olive True, also a native 
of Pittsfield. Mr. Eaton, previous to his enlistment 
in 1 86 1, was a dealer in horses and it was said that he 
owned <|pre horses than any other man that ever lived 
in town. " His was a very genial disposition, and every 
one was his friend. He had a horror of being buried 
at sea, and often said that this alone prevented him 
from becoming a sailor ; and yet he was the only sol- 
dier from this town that received this sepulture. This 
occurred November 2, 1S63. He was a son of John 
and Abigail (Green) Eaton. 

One cause of the sickness of Eaton, and of many 
others, was the poor food at Ship Island. The beef 
was very salt, though sweet ; the pork was rancid, 
having been cured in the Western fashion as bacon, 
and then lain for a long time piled up on the hot sand 
of the island. The bread was either wormy or moul- 
dy. The former w^as sweet and nice after we had 
shaken the " skippers " out of it, but the mouldy bread 
was horrid. After thirty years I can almost smell the 
stinking stuff, and my stomach recoils at the remem- 
brance of this rotten food. Then the dessicated vege- 
tables were nearly as bad. Of course the poor bread 
was the result of an accident, or rather carelessness, 
on the part of our quartermaster department, but this 
abomination of dessicated vegetables was a deliberate 
affair. I do not know who invented the stuff, and I 
cannot conceive of a fate that would be sufficient pun- 
ishment for him, unless it was to make him eat his 
own food until he starved to death, which would not 
take a very long time. 

CHARLES F. EATON, 

a son of the above John S. Eaton, was born in 
Pittsfield in the year 1845, and always resided in town 
until he enlisted. He was like his father, a lover of 



72 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

horses, and was employed in the various stables of 
the village. He entered Company C, Eighteenth New 
Hampshire Volunteers, September 14, 1S64, and 
served until the close of the war, and was mustered 
out with his regiment. He lived in Pittsheld until his 
death, November 12, 1S74. 

JOHN C. EATON 

is a native of Pittsfield, son of John AI. and Julia M. 
(Sargent) Eaton. He always resided in town until he 
enlisted in Company C, Eighteenth New Hampshire 
Volunteers, and was mustered into service September 
14, 1S64, and served until the close of the war. He 
made a first-class soldier. He is now at Great Falls, 
N. H., working for the same firm that has employed 
him for nearly a quarter of a century. 

A person who never witnessed it cannot understand 
the enthusiasm that greeted the regiments on their 
way to the front. As the cars bearing the soldiers 
passed through the country, men, women, and child- 
ren could be seen running across fields or pastures ; 
the children would climb on the fence, the boys on 
the topmost rail, while the elders stood around and 
with hats or handkerchiefs cheered the long train as it 
swept past. Then when we reached a city and had 
to march across to another depot, the vast crowds on 
the sidewalk would cease their busy traffic and send 
up cheer after cheer, and the people at the windows 
above — who always reminded us of the swallows 
peering from their nests in the old barn at home — 
would join in, and the crowd on the high roof above 
would catch up the cry, and, amid the waving of tiags, 
hats, and handkerchiefs, the huzzas would roll down 
the street as fast <\s we progressed. This enthusiasm 
was not confined to the hrst regiments, but continued 
until the war closed. 





-♦ mti 



D. W. Foss. 
John Eaton. 
A. C. Evans. 





P. S. Elliott, 
a. f. fullerton. 
John C. Eaton. 



PHILESTER S. ELLIOTT. 73 

PHILESTER S. ELLIOTT 

has always lived in this town, on the farm where he 
was born, May i, 1S39, a son of Joseph and Betsey 
(Seavey) ElHott. He received his education in our 
public schools and Pittsheld academy, under the cele- 
brated instructor, Dver H. Sanborn. He married 
Lucinda J. Watson of Northwood, and had one child 
about two weeks old when he enlisted in Company 
F, Twelfth regiment. After going into camp he was 
rejected by the surgeons. He returned home, and 
when the Fifteenth regiment was raised he entered 
Company G, and was mustered into service October 
II, 1862. I find from his diary that the regiment left 
Concord, November 13, arrived in New York the next 
morning, and were marched to City Hall park to be put 
in barracks, but these were so lousy that the soldiers 
refused to occupy them, and they were marched to 
Union race course on Long Island, where they passed 
the night on the steps of the grand stand. The next 
day the weather was very cold, and they were supplied 
with shelter, or " pLip/' tents. These were about 
seven feet square and two and a half high. Into one 
of these, six men were crowded ; it was impossible 
for one to turn over unless they all did. 

Here they remained until December 3, the weather 
in the meantime being either rainy or very cold, 
when they marched to Brooklyn, and tlie next day 
went on board the Prometheus^ a small river steamer, 
on which 600 men of the regiment were crowded. 
They at once sailed for Fortress Monroe. They ar- 
rived on the 7th and remained until the loth, when 
they sailed for Hilton Head, S. C. Here coal was 
taken on and the men visited the Third New Hamp- 
shire volunteers, which was stationed here. The next 
day they sailed for Ship Island, where they arrived 
Sunday, December 31, having passed through a severe 
storm while off the Florida coast. At 3 p. m. of the 
same day they sailed for New Orleans. The sail up 
the Mississippi river he describes as splendid indeed. 
4 



74 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

Arrived at New Orleans on the 2 2d ; remained over 
night. The next day sailed for Carrollton, a suburb 
of New Orleans, where they got into camp on the 
Shell road before dark. 

Here the regiment remained until January 27, 1863, 
when they moved to Camp Parapet. This was a for- 
tification some seven miles long, built by the rebels to 
prevent the Union troops from coming down the river 
if they should pass Vicksburg. 

March 26 he was taken sick, and the next day was 
sent to the hospital, where he remained until April 
10. During this time he lost twenty-four pounds 
weight. Although unable to do duty he remained 
with his company until the 24th of the month ; then 
he went back to the hospital and remained until the 
30th, when he returned to camp and did duty. May 
12 he was again taken sick, and was excused from 
duty until the i8th. The next day the regiment re- 
ceived marching orders, and on the 20th went on 
board steamer C?'esce?it for Port Hudson. 

He was taken very sick after the boats started, and 
was put ashore on the opposite side of the river from 
his late camp, where the sick and convalescent had 
remained. Some men rowed him across. Before he 
reached the hospital he became unconscious. After 
he got better he was detailed as nurse, and acted in 
that capacity until June 30, when he went on board 
the Sallle Robinson bound for Port Hudson. The 
next day, while at Baton Rouge, he called on Captain 
L. W. Osgood, who was in the hospital at that place 
suffering from his wounds, and who at once ordered 
Elliott to remain and care for him. 

July 15 they went on board the steamer North 
America for New Orleans, and took rooms at Mrs. 
Lee's, 285 Camp street. They remained here but one 
night, when they were sent to Port Hudson, where 
they arrived July 18. On the 26th, sailed for home. 
Coming up the river on the way home he speaks of 
burying from one to three of his dead comrades at 
nearly every stopping place. , 



JOHN EATON. 75 

While acting as nurse in the hospital, the surgeon 
was called away and the steward and head nurse were 
sick and unable to move. George Clark, a member 
of Elliott's company, was brought in suffering from 
sunstroke. He was unconscious, and Elliott did not 
know what to do, but something must be done at 
once, so he made a plaster of cantharides and clapped 
it on the back of the neck of the sufferer. Four hours 
later, when the surgeon returned, Elliott told him what 
he had done. On examination, the surgeon said he 
had done well, but it was no use, for Clark must die. 
The next morning Clark was alive and had a bad 
looking neck. Elliott tended him very carefully, so 
that he recovered and lived for more than twenty 
years. 

JOHN EATON 

was a native of Corinth, Me., where he was born Sep- 
tember 17, 1843. His parents, Perkins and Katie (Hil- 
ton) Eaton, moved to Pittsfield when he was quite 
small, and here he lived, attending school and playing 
his boyish pranks, until he enlisted in Company B, 
Second New Hampshire volunteers, and was mus- 
tered into service June i, 1861. 

As the company had more than its complement of 
men he was transferred to Company E, of the same 
regiment. Here he served throughout the famous 
Peninsular campaign, being slightly wounded at the 
Battle of Williamsburg. He was taken sick and sent 
to the college hospital at Williamsburg. 

From here he went to Yorktown, where he had 
pneumonia. He was transferred to Portsmouth 
Grove, R. I. Here he remained for a long time, and 
as he grew no better he was sent home to die of 
consumption. This was February 15, 1863, but in 
a siiort time the pure air of Pittsfield restored his 
wonted vigor and he went to Concord to work. 
While there the enrolment for the first draft took 
place, but before the day of drawing had arrived, he 



76 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

went to Portsmouth, N. H., to work on the fortifi- 
cations. Soon afterward the provost marshal ap- 
peared and notified him that he had been drafted. 

Now Comrade Eaton was wilHng to serve his 
country voluntarilv, but he demurred at being forced 
into the army. He told the ofiicer that he would re- 
port at Concord the next day. He did so, was exam- 
ined and accepted, tlien was given two weeks in 
which to arrange his affairs. 

He returned to Portsmouth the next evening. Six 
young men were together, of whom he was one. 
They were talking about enlisting, and one said he 
would go if another one would, another said he would 
go if still another vvould. At last it came to John, who 
said, " Bo3's, now you fellows have all got to go or 
back out." That night they all enlisted and Eaton 
is the only one left to tell their story. Of course his 
enlisting as he did (from another congressional district) 
made some confusion in the records at Concord. 

He and his companions were sent to Concord, and 
placed in the pen among a lot of conscripts and sub- 
stitutes. This was very distasteful to these men who 
had volunteered, so they appealed to the selectmen, 
wbo came forward and guaranteed that they would 
not desert. Then they were allowed their full liberty 
until they were sent to join Company H, Fourth New 
Hampshire volunteers, which they did at Washing- 
ton. From that time on Eaton was in the army com- 
manded by General Butler, and participated in all 
battles and skirmishes in which his regiment was en- 
gaged, from Drury's Bluft'to Petersburg. 

At the blowing up of the famous mine at the latter 
place he was terribly wounded in the right fore-arm 
by an explosive bullet, shattering the bone and render- 
ing it useless for the remainder of his life. At the 
same time he received another wound from a Minie 
ball in his shoulder, and before he could be removed 
he was bayoneted in the leg by a rebel as he lay on 
the field. 

After a time he was removed and sent to Wash- 



JOHN EATON. 77 

ington, where the doctors decided to amputate liis 
wounded limb, but Dr. Webster, whom our older cit- 
izens will remember as having married a sister of our 
well known townsman, Benjamin Kaine, interfered and 
saved not only the arm but the life of our comrade. 
After remaining here a long time he was removed to 
Manchester, and placed in the hospital on the old fair- 
ground in the north part of the city, and late in the 
summer of 1865 was discharged. 

At the Battle of Williamsburg a man from this town 
had a finger shot off; as he started to the rear he held 
the bleeding member aloft and shouted, " See, boys, 
I 've got a thirty days furlough." His levity gave 
rise to the story that he had shot it off himself, but 
Eaton says it was not so, for he was bv his side. The 
man had just loaded his gun and brought it to " ready " 
when a rebel bullet cut his finger off as clean as it 
could have been done with an ax. 

The amount of ignorance among the people of the 
South was astonishing. To be sure there was an edu- 
cated class, equal to any found in the world, but there 
was a large class of pooT whites that were no furtiier 
advanced in intelligence than the negroes. One of 
this class had attached himself to the Second regiment, 
and more particularly to John Eaton. He was con- 
tinually bragging about his dogs, — they could catch 
any '*■ nigger" that ever ran, while for hunting coons 
they could not be beat, — they were the pride of his 
life. One day he came to Eaton and said: "You 
know I 've got a sweetheart over in the next 
county, and I 've just got a letter from her; but you 
know I can't read it, for I a'n't no scholar. Now if 
you '11 read it for me, and let me stand behind you and 
hold onto your ears so you can't hear, I '11 give 
you one of my pups." 

To this arrangement Eaton agreed. After the read- 
ing had been completed the native said, " Lor', there's 
nothing in it but what I 'd just as lief you would 
know as not, — read it again." But Eaton would not 
do it unless the man would agree to take the pup 



78 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

back. Then Eaton pretended to read a lot of news that 
was not in the letter ; the citizen became disgusted 
at this, and sought some one else who could read 
twice alike. 

JOSEPH S. EVANS 

lived with his parents on the river road. He en- 
listed in Company F, Thirteenth regiment New 
Hampshire volunteers, and was mustered into service 
September 19, 1S62. He was with his regiment un- 
til June I, 1864, when he was severely wounded be- 
fore Petersburg, Virginia, and was discharged the 
following autumn. He is now living in Strallord. 

LEWIS E. EDGERLY 



was born in Barnstead, May 12, 1S29 ; enlisted in the 
summer of 1S61 in Company G, Seventh regiment 
New Hampshire volunteers. He was with the regi- 
ment at Manchester and Fort" Jeflerson and Dry Tor- 
tugas. He was reported missing after the Battle of 
Fort Wagner, and although his name does not appear 
in the adjutant-general's report, yet he was undoubt- 
edly killed in that terrible engagement. Mr. Edgerly 
was a man of nervous temperament, therefore he had 
his strong likes and dislikes. He hated slavery in all 
of its forms, but loved his country, therefore as soon 
as he could provide for his numerous family it took 
no large bounty to stimulate his patriotism, but he 
enlisted at once. Although the spot where he lies is 
unknown, there is erected in the memory of his com- 
rades and friends a monument that the wealth of a 
millionaire could not buy. 

He was a son of John and Sarah J. (Bickford) 
Edgerly. March 13, 1853, he married Mary A. 
Sanborn, and had four small children when he en- 
listed. 



CHARLES F. FRENCH. 79 



CHARLES F. FRENCH. 

The French family has been prominent in town for 
more tlian one huiKhed years. Al)ram French came 
from Seabrook to build the meeting-house, now the 
Town hall, for the proprietors of the town, and soon 
after settled in town. lie raised a large family of chil- 
dren. His grandson, Charles F. French, was born in 
Belmont, July 12, 1840, a son of Charles and Sarah F. 
(Burleigh) French. When three years of age, his par- 
ents returned to Pittsfield. He attended our public 
schools and the academy, and worked for his father, 
who was a farmer and bootmaker, until he enlisted 
in Company G, Fifteenth New Hampshire volun- 
teeis. lie was mustered into service October 11, 
1863. 

At that time he was a very active young man, and 
entered into camp life with his customary zeal, but the 
enervating climate of Louisiana soon began to tell 
upon his energy, although he continued to do his duty 
with his company until May 26, 1863, when he was 
detailed to the ambulance corps as a driver. This 
position he held until his regiment was ready to re- 
turn home after the fall of Port Hudson, when he 
rejoined his command and was mustered out of serv- 
ice, Aug. 13, 1863. 

The next da}' after his detail above spoken of, Gen. 
Neal Dow, the celebrated apostle of temperance, re- 
ceived the wound which subsecjuently caused the loss 
of his leg. Comrade French was directed to take the 
general out to ride every day — in fact he became Gen- 
eral Dow's coachman. The general commenced 
speculating in cotton, and French drove him all over 
that section of the country, so that he might secure a 
large quantity of that staple. One day they came 
very near running into a large party of the rebels, but 
escaped, as they supposed, unnoticed. After leaving 
General Dow at his quarters, a house far to the rear 
of our lines, French drove to the place where the am- 



8o PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION, 

bulances were encamped. That night the rebels cap- 
tured General Dow and took him to Richmond, where 
from neglect his wound grew so bad that his leg had 
to be amputated. Most of the men in the service 
thought a position in the ambulance corps a sine- 
cure — or, as they expressed it, a " soft job," — but the 
reverse was true, for the exposure to disease, with but 
little chance for recuperation in case of being ill, ren- 
dered that service one of the most dangerous in the 
arm}'. One had to work day and night until every 
sick or wounded comrade was cared for, and until 
every officer who could command you had been satis- 
fied that he could not think of anything more to do. 
Then you could go to your quarters, but not to rest. 
No matter how tired you were, no matter if you were 
hungry, sleepy, or thirsty, your team must be cared 
for, which generally meant tv/o hours' hard work. 
Then you could hunt around and find something for 
yourself to eat. After cooking it you could crawl 
into your ambulance if you wanted to, to sleep; but 
generally these would get so lousy during a campaign 
that most drivers preferred the ground. 

Fortunate, indeed, was the driver who could stretch 
himself on Mother Earth before midnight, and still 
more fortunate was he if allowed to sleep until four 
o'clock in the morning. This life he must lead until 
the days became weeks and the weeks, months 
— enough to break down the strongest man. 

During one of his numerous marches. Comrade 
French lost the Testament that had been presented him 
by the good people of Pittsfield. This book was 
picked up by a member of a New York regiment, 
who, a quarter of a century later, wrote to the address 
found on the fly-leaf. In this way a correspondence 
was opened that led to the book being restored to the 
former owner. Of course Mr. French prizes it very 
highly, owing to its history. 

He has always made his home in this town since 
his discharge. 



CHARLES H. FULLERTON. 8 1 

Some men in Concord speaking of the home-com- 
ing of the men from this town in the Fifteenth regi- 
ment said, " They looked like a company of men 
coming out of their graves. " Their complexion 
surely resembled that of the dead, their flesh was 
nearly gone from their bones, their eyes were sunken, 
and they could hardly walk — some did not. Some 
went to the hospital to die, but all who could entered 
coaches in Concord to be carried to their homes. 
When near the village they were met by a delegation 
of friends and neighbors who welcomed them home. 
Their best friends could scarcely recognize them, so 
changed were they from disease and exposure. 

The prowess of the old Roman legions has been 
told in song and story for more than a thousand years ; 
yet when one of their regiments had lost lo per cent, 
of their members by disease or wounds they were said 
to be deci7nated^ and were retired and given posts of 
honor. Pittsfield sent 147 men into the army during 
the war; of these, fifty-nine either died or were dis- 
charged as permanently disabled, making over 40 per 
cent, ot the whole number. If we add to this those 
who were discliarged by reason of the expiration of 
their term of service and who were permanently dis- 
abled at that time, it would amount to more tlian one 
half of the entire number. The most conspicuous ex- 
amples of this havoc were the men of the Fifteenth 
regiment, who had served in Louisiana. 

CHARLES H. FULLERTON 

was a member of Company E, Fourth regiment New 
Hampshire volunteers. He was mustered into ser- 
vice September iS, i86r. January i, 1864, he reen- 
listed in the same company, and February 21 he took 
his furlough of thirty days and came home. During 
all of his absence from town he had entered a build- 
ing but three times, had not passed a night under a 
roof, or slept in a bed. 

At the expiration of his furlough he returned to his 
4* 



82 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

command, and served to the close of the war. Com- 
rade Fullerton was a man of iron constitution, but the 
exposure of army life broke him down, and he never 
regained his health. He died in this town, Novem- 
ber 26, 1 87 1. 

He was a son of Andrew D. and Maria J. (Colley) 
Fullerton, and was born in Newmarket, September 
12, 1835, came to Pittsfield about 1857, and was a 
farmer bv occupation. He was with his res^iment at 
Washington, Annapolis, Fort Munroe, Hilton Head, 
S. C, Fernandina, and St. Augustine, Fla. On the 
22d of October, 1862, he took part in the Battle of Po- 
cotaligo Bridge, when the regiment lost twenty-seven 
men. July 20, 1863, he with his regiment encamped 
on Morris Island. 

In September and October, 1864, he was in front of 
Petersburg. September 29 was in the charge on Fort 
Gilmore. December, 1864, he went on the expedition 
to Fort Fisher, N. C. On Christmas day they landed 
three miles from the fort, drove the enemy back inside 
their fortifications, and remained all night ; the next 
day they were ordered to re-embark and come back to 
Virginia. He was in every engagement in which his 
regiment took part, and came home without receiving 
a wound of any kind. 

ALBERT F. FULLERTON 

was a brother of the above. He, too, was born in 
Newmarket, May 20, 1846. Came to Pittsfield with 
the family, and resided here until he enlisted in Com- 
pany C, Eighteenth regiment New Hampshire volun- 
teers, September 19, 1864, and served until the close 
of the war. He was a shoemaker by trade, and very 
popular with his friends. I learn that his death 
occurred November 8, 1890, at Loudon. 

HENRY A. L. FRENCH 

was a native of Loudon, son of Hiram and Lydia 
(Batchelder) French. He was educated at Oilman- 



DANIEL W. FOSS. 83 

ton and Pittsfield academies, and then went west and 
remained a few years. About i860 he returned, and 
entered the employment of his uncle, Hon. R. L. 
French of Pittsfield, as a clerk. He married Miss 
Sarah G. Clough, of Canterbury, and lived on Lyford 
hill. 

In the summer of 1862 he enlisted in Company F, 
Twelfth regiment New Hampshire volunteers, and 
was mustered as second lieutenant September 8, 1862, 
and as first lieutenant of Company C, April 23, 1S63. 
While he was in the service a child was born. He 
succeeded in getting a short furlough, came home, saw 
his wife and child, and returned to the service. His 
wife soon after died ; tliis made him very despondent; 
while on the march to Gettysburg he told Captain 
Johnston he hoped to be killed in the next fight. 
During the severe battle that followed, an order came 
to "■ Change front to tlie rear," a very hard thing to 
do while under fire, without the men breaking ranks. 
While executing this order the lines wavered ; Lieuten- 
ant French waved his sword, and shouted, " Steady 
men, steady there!" Jnst then a ball struck him in 
the head and passed through, killing him instantly. 
This was July 3, 1863. 

He was a good citizen and brave officer, but he 
sleeps in an unknown grave, buried by the enemy. 

DANIEL W. FOSS. 

In 1846 Thomas and Margaret (Se wards) Foss 
were living in Dover, where on the 2d of July their 
oldest son, " Dan," was born. His father died when 
he was about nine years old, and Daniel a few years 
later went to live with a friend of the family in Straf- 
ford. 

In 1859 ^^^^ mother married the late John C. Berry 
of this town, and from that time his home was in 
Pittsfield. Previous to enlisting he always worked 
on a farm. September 3, 1864, he enlisted in Com- 
pany E, First New Hampshire heavy artillery, and 



84 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

went into camp at Concord, and soon left for Wash- 
ington. He was stationed at Fort Richardson ; fi'om 
there his company went to Fort Reno and then to 
Fort Sumner. Here Comrade Foss was taken with 
typhoid fever, and for some time his life was despaired 
of. He remained here until the close of the war, and 
was discharged with his regiment. He has made his 
home in Pittsfield nearly all the time since his dis- 
charge. 

HENRY M. GORDON. 

For several years previous to the war, Henry M. 
Gordon, a shoemaker, liv^ed on Chestnut street. He 
had a wife, nee Marston, and one child. On the 
morning of April 17, 1S61, he ate his breakfast with 
his family and started for his shop, on the present site 
of the Union block. When he reached the corner of 
Main street he met Orren Brock, who told him that he 
was going to Concord to enlist. " Wait a minute," 
said Gordon, " while I get another coat, and I will go 
with you." In less than three minutes Gordon was 
on the road that led him away from Pittsfield for three 
years. He left a pair of unfinished shoes in his shop. 
He was the second man to be accepted from this 
town. He became a member of Company E, Second 
New Hampshire volunteers, and was mustered into 
service, June 3, 1S61. He was soon after promoted 
to the rank of sergeant, which position he held until 
mustered out, June 21, 1S64. 

At the first Battle of Bull Run he was wounded in 
the right hand ; a ball struck the joint of the forefinger 
and ploughed its way up the back of his hand. After 
his recovery he took part in the siege of Yorktown, 
the battles of Williamsburg, May 5, 1862, Fair Oaks, 
June 23 and 25, Savage Station, June 27, Peach 
Orchard, June 28, Glendale, June 30. He was in 
the first Battle of Malvern Hill, July i ; Fredericks- 
burg, July 11-15; second Battle of Malvern Hill, 
August 5 ; Bristow's Station, August 25 ;.and second 
Bull Run, August 29, 1862. In the last he was shot 



COTTON W. GREEN. S5 

through the right thigh — a very severe wound. He 
was engaged in the battles of Gettysburg, July 1^4, 
1863, and Wapping Heights, July 23 of the same 
year. 

His comrades speak of him in the highest terms, and 
he made a splendid record as a soldier. He is still 
living in Lynn, Mass. 

WILLIAM F. GEORGE 

was a blacksmith who occupied a shop on Park street. 
He was a superior workman. Of his early life I have 
learned only a little, but believe that he was a native 
of Sandown, N. H. He lived for a time in New 
York state, where he learned his trade. He married, 
first, a Miss Batchelder of Chichester, near Kelley's 
corner, and after her death he married a Widow 
Chestlcy, who had a son Joseph, that was killed at 
Gettysburg. (See sketch of Joseph Chestley.) George 
enlisted in Company F, Twelfth New Hampshire vol- 
unteers, and served with the regiment until his dis- 
charge in 1865. He lived but a short time after 
reaching home. 

W. H. Blake of iiis company relates how cool Mr. 
George was under fire. At the Battle of Fredericks- 
burg, while the shells were flying over the river and 
bursting all around him, George sat on a cracker box 
reading a newspaper, taking no notice of the flying 
missiles. 

One day he was engaged in slioeing a mule during 
a thunder shower. The lightning struck the mule, 
killing him, and injuring Comrade George so that he 
died from its effects after he returned home. 

COTTON W. GREEN. 

The names of Green and Drake have always been 
prominent among the families in town. William 
Green married Harriett Drake. From their union 
was born C. Warren Green, June 25, 1835. ^^ mar- 



S6 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

ried Caroline Moore, July n, 1S57, and had two 
children. He enlisted in Company E, First New 
Hampshire heavy artillery, and was mustered into 
service September 5, 1S64, as sergeant. He served 
with his company until the close of the war, and was 
mustered out at Concord in July, 1S65. Comrade 
Green always resided in town, and was a shoemaker 
by trade. His exposure while in the Army of tlie 
Potomac brouglit on a disease of the nervous system, 
from which he died a few years after his return home. 

GEORGE FRANK GREEN, 

a brother of the above, was born in Pittsfield, Decem- 
ber 29, 1S46, and always resided in town until he en- 
listed, except two years when he was in Boston and 
Haverhill engaged in the concrete business. He 
entered Company E, First New Hampshire heavy 
artillery, September 10, 1S64, and served with his 
regiment until the close of the war, except for a few 
weeks that he was confined in Fort Sumner hospital 
by sickness. He is now a resident of Pittsfield. 

EZRA L. GREENLEAF 

was born in North wood, near Jenness's pond, Febru- 
ary 28, 1828. He was a son of Benjamin and Rhoda 
(Clough) Greenleaf. He was a shoemaker, and lived 
in the vicinity of his birthplace until he married, in 
1848, Mary A. Elliott. He had seven children when 
he enlisted. He joined, I believe, the Fortieth Mas- 
sachusetts infantry in 1863, and served until the close 
of the war. His post-office address is Dana, Mass. 

SAMUEL R. GEEEN. 

The south part of Pittsfield was settled mostly by 
members of the Society of Friends. Among these was 
Abram Green, who cleared a farm on the mountain 
near the Qiiaker bury ing-ground. Here his son, Sam- 



CHARLES H. N. GREEN. Sy 

uel R. Green, was born. He attended school at the 
Dowboro' scliool-hoiise, and after he arrived at man- 
hood he married a Miss Brown whose father lived in 
the same district. He moved with his wife to Sea- 
brook, where she died, and about 1855 he returned to 
Pittsfield and remained until he enlisted in Company 
A, Fifth regiment New Hampshire volunteers. He 
served wi til that regiment until the Battle of Gettys- 
burg, when he was wounded. He died from the 
effects of those wounds July 29, 1863. His grave is 
No. 7, Section A, New Hampshire lot, Gettysburg 
cemetery. 

One day while in Virginia, Green walked out 
among the teams, where the negroes were feeding and 
cleaning the animals. One mule kicked and knocked 
a hostler into a ditch. As the negro crawled out 
covered with mud and water he said, " I 'clar, massa, 
dat is just why I 'spise a mule. " 

CHARLES H. N. GREEN. 

July 5, 1858, C. H. N. Green and Miss Emma L. 
Tucker, both of this town, were married. They 
had two children when he enlisted in Company C, 
Eighteenth New Hampshire volunteers, September 
13, 1864. A few days later he went with his company 
to City Point, Va., where they were engaged in 
building a stockade. As soon as this was completed 
they went to building a corduroy road across a swamp 
in Virginia, but the rebels would not let them work 
in peace and it was almost a continual skirmish for 
nearly a month. 

On March 25, 1865, Comrade Green's regiment 
took an active part in the recapture of Fort Stedman, 
and from that time until the ftiU of Petersburg they 
were constantly engaged in the investment of that 
city. From that time until June 11, 1865, when they 
were discharged, they were employed most of the 
time in doing guard duty in tiie captured territory. 

Comrade Green is a son of Josiah and Hannah 



88 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

(Barton) Green, a native of Pittsfiekl. He now re- 
sides in Hopkinton, but his post-office address is Con- 
cord, N. H. 

JAMES B. HILL. 

There died in this town a few years ago John B. 
Hill, who had been General Scott's personal attend- 
ant during the Mexican war, and who had served 
during the Rebellion in a Massachusetts regiment. 
He had one son, James B. Hill, who was born in 
Lynn, Mass., July 5, 1S44. His mother was Elsibeth 
Hobbs, a Maine woman. When James was two 
years old his parents removed to Exeter, N. H., and 
a few years later to Maine. When he was fifteen 
years old he came to Pittsfield, and made his home 
with his uncle, Thomas Marshall. He married Miss 
Susan Berry, of Barnstead or Strafford, by whom he 
had one child. 

He enlisted in Company C, Eighteenth New 
Hampshire volunteers, and was mustered into service 
September 19, 1S64, and was soon after promoted to 
the rank of corporal. In the winter following he was 
taken sick and sent to the hospital. February, 1S65, 
as soon as he was convalescent, he was made ward- 
master of the Fifth Corps hospital, under the cele- 
brated Dr. Fee. In April, when the latter gentleman 
was transferred to the Wilmington (Del.) hospital, he 
took Hill with him. Here he remained until his dis- 
charge, in June, 1865. Like his father, he was natur- 
ally adapted to the care of the sick. 

At present Mr. Hill is in Pittsfield. 

JOHN JOHNSTON 

was born in 179S. He came to Pittsfield while quite 
a young man, for I have often heard him relate that 
when the first cotton-factory was being built, he left 
his shoe-shop one evening in the summer and visited 
the yard where the work had been going on through 
the day. While looking around he was approached 



JOHN JOHNSTON. 89 

by a stranger, who enquired if he wanted any more 
help. 

"What can you do.^ " Mr. Johnston asked. 

" I am a broad-ax man, " was the reply. 

" Very well, " said Mr. Johnston : "you can go to 
work to morrow morning on that log over there." 

The next afternoon the foreman discovered that he 
had an extra hand, and asked him how he came there. 

" The boss hired me last evening, " was the reply. 

"No, I did not," said the foreman. 

" I know you didn't, ye blackguard, it was the boss 
himself. " 

The foreman afterwards said that this was the best 
ax man he ever saw. 

Mr. Johnston was the last man to hold the office of 
tithing-man in this town. It was the duty of this 
officer to keep the boys quiet and the old men awake 
in church on Sunday. His badge of office was a long 
pole v/ith a string attached to a ball. If the boys in 
the gallery got noisy a prod with the pole made them 
put on a sober face. If the old men got drowsy when 
Parson Sargent had reached his seventeenthly, tiien 
bump would go the ball on the bald pate of the hearer, 
and he would be wide awake instantly. 

Another duty of the tithing-man was "to see that 
no one went abroad on Sunday, except to or from 
meeting or on an errand of mercy." One Sabbath 
Mr. Johnston hailed a stranger and asked him where 
he was going. 

" None of your business," was the reply, as the 
traveller put spurs to his horse and galloped away. 
Mr. Johnston thought the matter over, and finally 
concluding that it was none of his business, resigned 
his office, which was never again filled. 

In 1836, Mr. Johnston married Miss Lydia Picker- 
ing of Barnstead, and immediately commenced house- 
keeping in this town and ever after lived here. He 
had two children, a son and daughter, living when 
he enlisted October 2, 1862. 

It was his intention to go as a nurse in the hospital. 



90 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

a position for which he was peculiarly adapted, and 
the most of his service was confined to this branch. 
When tlie army under General Banks advanced on 
Fort Hudson he remained at Camp Parapet, and for 
a long time had charge of one of the wards of a hospi- 
tal there. He rejoined his regiment, however, be- 
fore they returned home, and was mustered out of 
service August 13, 1S63, at Concord. 

He died in Pittsfield, November 14, 1S77. 

JOHN W. JOHNSTON 

was a son of the above, born in Pittsfield; by occu- 
pation, previous to enlistment, a travelling salesman. 
When the Twelfth regiment was being raised, which 
was done in ten days' time, Mr. Johnston enlisted in 
Company F, August 23, 1S62, and was made a cor- 
poral September 5, 1S62, and a few months later was 
made a sergeant. Camp life is always irksome to an 
active young fellow, and Johnston applied to his com- 
manding officer for a vacant clerkship. This was 
refused on the ground that Johnston was too good a 
soldier for a clerk, and that he would be in line of pro- 
motion if he retained his present place. 

While the regiment was at Point Lookout, Md., 
guarding prisoners, Jolinston was discharged, Novem- 
ber 22, 1S63, to accept promotion as first lieutenant in 
his company, where he had served a little over a year 
before as a private, and the next day he was mustered 
as such. Again he was promoted and mustered, July 
24, 1S64, as captain of Company D, of the same regi- 
ment, and was finally discharged as such June 21, 

■865. 

During the summer of 1S64 he was on the staft of 
Brigadier-General J. H. Potter's provisional brigade, 
Army of the James, as provost-marshal. He also 
served in the same capacity on the stafls of Gen. 
Chas. K. Graham and General Freraro, commanding 
same brigade. He was then detailed as acting assist- 
ant ordinance officer, Army of the James, on the staft' 



JAMES M. JONES. 9 1 

of Gen. B. F. Butler, with headquarters at Jones's 
hmding on the Jnmes river. He had charge of the 
reserve ammunition of that army. He remained in 
tliis capacity under Gen. E. O. C. Ord, who suc- 
ceeded General Butler, and on the evacuation of 
Richmond he was ordered tliere, to take charge of the 
captured ammunition and to see to the shipping of 
the same to Washington. This of course was but a 
short time before his discharge. 

Captain Johnston took part in the following battles : 
Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Wapping Heights, Swift 
Creek, Cold Harbor, Cemetery Hill, and the siege of 
Petersburg. At Cold Harbor he had command of a 
division of his regiment, consisting of Companies F 
and D. In that engagement Company F lost six men 
killed and eighteen wounded, out of thirty-four who 
went into the fight. Captain Johnston never received 
any wounds during these several engagements, and 
never had occasion to go to the hospital from sickness 
during his entire term of service. He is now a 
member of tiie flour manufacturing firm of Stratton, 
Merrill & Co., of Concord, but he resides in Man- 
chester. 

JAMES M. JONES 

was born in Pittsfield, April 8, 1S2S. He enlisted 
first from Barnstead in 1862, as a member of Com- 
pany G, Fifteenth New Hampshire volunteers. After 
his term of service he moved to Pittsfield and enlisted 
in Troop D, First New Hampshire cavalry, where he 
served until the close of the war. A man of power- 
ful strength and endurance, with the courage of a lion, 
he made one of the best soldiers tiiat wore Uncle 
Sam's uniform. 

During his service in the last named regiment tlic 
men were dismounted at one time to make an attack 
on foot. This they did in good shape, but were re- 
pulsed, and driven away from their horses. The men 
became scattered in small detachments. Jones, 
Mooney, and Robinson were together. At last Rob- 



92 rnrsFiELD in ihk rebellion. 

inson gave out and was about to throw away his arms 
when Jones cried out, " Don't you do it ; give 'em to 
me, I'll lug 'em." Soon after, Mooney threw away 
his ; Jones picked them up and carried them too. 
*'Now, " said he, " if you fellows can't keep up, just 
one of you get up on one shoulder and the other on 
the other, and I will carry you to camp. " In this 
way they tramped for a mile or two, until they 
reached our lines. 

Mr. Jones is now living in North wood. 

ENOCH JOY 

was mustered into Company C, Eighteenth New 
Hampshire volunteers, as a sergeant, September 14, 
1864, and served as such until the close of the war and 
the mustering out of his regiment. He was born in 
Pittsfield, December 30, 183S, a son of Lewis and 
Ann (Parshley) Joy, and always made this town his 
home until he enlisted. He married Miss Annjean- 
nctte Carr of this town, and had one child when he left 
for the war. He was a shoemaker by occupation, and 
is now a prosperous citizen of Grinnell, Iowa. 

EVERETT JENKINS. 

Perhaps no man who entered the army sufi'ered 
more and came out alive than Everett Jenkins. He 
was born in Barnstead, September 29, 1S36. His 
father was Josepli Jenkins, his mother Lydia (Mer- 
rill) Jenkins. He lived with his father, working on 
his large farm and attending school, until he was 
twenty-one years old, when he came to Pittsfield to 
work for his brother Joseph, who was a butcher. He 
remained with him a year or so, until he went into tiie 
photograph business for himself. In March, 1S61, 
he married Miss Addie M. Knowles of this town. 
He enlisted with his two brothers, Lewis and Melvin 
J., of Barnstead, in Company B, Twelfth regiment of 
New Hampshire infantry, August 30, 1862. 




EvKRiiTT Jenkins. 
J. W. Johnston. 
C. F. French. 



Edwin A. Kellev. 

Enoch Joy. 

R. T. Leavitt, Jr. 



M' 



EVERETT JENKINS. 93 

At the terrible Battle of Fredericksburg, Va., 
while his regiment was moving down by the river 
over Strafford Heights, he was wounded in the right 
hand and his arm broken in several places — in fact 
destroyed for all practical purposes. After a part 
of the wounds healed there were more than thirty 
scars left. Some of the wounds have never healed. 
He thinks the explosion of the shell must have knock- 
ed him down, as his clothing was covered with dirt, 
when he came to himself- While running to the rear, 
the first shelter he sought was a large pile of boards, 
but he remained here only a short time, for it occurred 
to him that if the enemy should knock them over it 
would be sure death ; so he ran to a big oak tree 
standing near the Lacy house. He then went to the 
Lacy house. It was so full of wounded that he had 
to go to the back part of the building before he could 
find room to lie down. There he lay eight days and 
nights before his wounds were dressed. No attention 
was paid to him except to pour cold water on his arm. 
His clothing was wet all that time. Near his head 
was a large iron tank into which human excrement 
was poured. The stench was terrible. 

Thirteen days after he was wounded, Christmas 
day, he was taken out of the house, moved about one 
half mile, and placed in a tent with other wounded. 
It was bitter cold, A lady came that day to Jenkins 
and said, "You poor soldier, don't you want some 
brandy and milk.^" It was the first nourishment he 
had received since his wound. Jenkins took the cup 
and drank eagerly. She said, "There are many oth- 
ers, and I have but a little. " He gave back the 
dipper. 

The same day he was put in a freight car, where he 
lay on the floor till night. Then the engine was 
hitched on, bumping the cars together regardless of 
their freight of suffering humanity, and the train was 
taken to Aquia Creek. Here they had the first food 
since they went into battle on that morning of 
December 12. It was c»;?^ biscuit each. They were 



94 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

then put onboard a steamer and taken to Washington, 
and placed in Stanton hospital. 

Four men took Jenkins from the ambulance, one at 
each leg and arm, and regardless of his cries of pain, 
caused by lifting him by his shattered arm, carried 
him in. Drs. Hammond and Lidell iiad charge of 
this hospital, and Jenkins is very loud in his praise 
of these two men. Dr. Hammond lanced his arm in 
thirty places, and at each place the pus would spurt 
out. A few days later the doctor said, "To-morrow 
we will decide whether we shall amputate your arm 
or not. " 

Comrade Jenkit^^ was very glad to hear this, hop- 
ing to soon get rid of this painful member, but the 
next day the doctor told him that they had concluded 
not to do so. '^For, " said he, " if we take it off, you 
will not live twenty-four hours. With it on, there is a 
bare chance that you will live. " 

" How much of a chance?" Jenkins asked. 

'' One in ten, " was the reply. 

" Then I will take that chance, " said Jenkins. 

He remained in this hospital sixty-three days. Soon 
after his arrival his brother, William Albert Jenkins, 
came to take care of him, and remained with him un- 
til his discharge on February 26, 186;^. His brother 
took him in his arms and carried him as a person 
would an infant, for Everett, although six feet tall, 
weighed but 98 pounds. In the cars his brother 
held him in his lap, and after a short rest in New 
York they reached Concord, where a sleigh was in 
readiness with a bed in it, and he was taken to his 
home. At Stanton hospital he was taken with a 
severe pain in his right leg, which Dr. Hammond said 
was caused by blood poison. For a long time his life 
was despaired of, and this trouble has caused him 
intense pain since. 

After his wounds had been dressed at Washing- 
ton, as related above, Jenkins remained in a stupor 
for a long time. When he opened his eyes, a sheet 
had been spread over his face, and he could see some- 



JONATHAN JAMES. 95 

thing crawling over it. With his uninjured hand he 
turned the sheet down, and discovered tliat he was 
covered with lice. He called an attendant, and he 
was moved to cleaner quarters, but it was a long 
time before he was free from these vermin. While 
in Washington his leg pained him severely day and 
night. It became so tender that he could not bear 
the weight of a sheet upon it. At last the doctor 
lanced it, and it discharged over a gallon of pus. He 
lay in one position so long that his j'oints were set, 
and when an attempt was made to lift him he was 
as rigid as a log of vv^ood, not a joint would bend. 

Since the war he has been in the Massachusetts 
General hospital twice, to have his leg operated upon, 
and has had ten and one half inches of bone removed. 
Strange to say he still lives, and can be seen walking 
on our streets daily. 

JONATHAN JAMES, 

a native of Pittsfield, born in 1836, son of Edward 
S. and Mary James, was a shoemaker by trade. He 
enlisted September 5, 1S62, as a recruit for Company 
F, Fifth New Hampshire volunteers, and served with 
that regiment until his discharge. Except for a short 
time he was on detached duty as an orderly for Gen- 
eral Ord. 

One time while on this duty they made a raid into 
the enemy's lines. Stopping at a hotel they ordered 
breakfast. 

" Tea, or coflee, sar.^ " said the colored waiter stand- 
ing behind James. 

"Coffee," replied the soldier. 

Soon a cup was placed before him containing a 
vile-looking compound. 

"Do you call that coffee .''" asked James, looking 
at the negro and pointing to the cup. 

" Oh, yes, sar, dat is coffee sure, sar, for I dug de 
roots and parched 'em myself. " 

Burnt carrots never made coffee good enough for a 



96 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

Union soldier, and James called for a glass of water. 
He died in Lynn, Mass., several years ago. 

SAMUEL P. JAMES 

was a brother of the above, a native of Pittsfield, and 
always resided here until he enlisted in Company E, 
Seventh New Hampshire volunteers, and was mustered 
into service November 7, 1861. He reenlisted Feb- 
ruary 28, 1864, and served until the close of the war. 
He made for himself a good record as a soldier. He 
died soon after his discharge in 1865. 

LEONARD JONES 

was for many years one of our best known citizens. 
He erected a house on Crescent street, which at that 
time was considered one of the best houses in town. 
He and his wife were both natives of Waterford, 
Maine, his birthday being May 12, 18 13. They re- 
sided there until the fall of 1837, when they removed 
to Pittsfield. Mr. Jones enlisted in 1861 in Company 
G, Seventh New Hampshire volunteers, but the 
severe exposure at Manchester was too much for him, 
and when the regiment reached New Jersey, he was 
sent to the hospital, and discharged February 12, 1862. 
He died in Pittsfield, October 8, 1876. 

CALVIN A. JONES, 

when a boy, was, like all healthy lads, always getting 
into mischief. One day while playing beside the ca- 
nal near the old grist-mill, he fell in and came near 
being drowned. As he was going down the third time 
he was rescued by Plummer Leavitt. Not daunted by 
this mishap he soon after learned to swim, and later 
in life, when in the West, he performed the feat of 
swimming across the Mississippi river at the Falls 
of St. Anthony, the distance being more than a mile. 
After resting for a few minutes he swam back. 



JOSEPH A. JACOBS. 97 

He was a son of the above Leonard Jones, and was 
born at Waterford, Maine, January 25, 1835. He 
was but a year Jind a half old when his parents moved 
to Pittsfield. He attended scliool and worked in the 
cotton mill until he was twenty-one years old ; then 
he went to Minneapolis, Minn., to work as a carpen- 
ter. He remained there sixteen months, then returned 
home and worked in the mills at Manchester. On 
December 3, 1S60, he was married to May F. St 
Clair, a Vermont woman. 

He enlisted in Company G, Seventh New Hamp- 
shire volunteers, but for certain reasons he was trans- 
ferred with one or two others to Company D, of the 
same regiment. After the command reached Dry 
Tortugas island, Jones was detailed to work in the 
bake-house. This wa« in Fort Jetierson. The three 
ovens were in one of the casemates of the fort ; no 
air or liglit could enter the room except through the 
door and one port-hole ; it was a fearfidly hot place, 
and to men who had been exposed to the rigor of a 
severe winter, as these men had (see account of J. 
C« Morrill), it was no wonder that Jones broke down, 
especially since he was obliged to work from 6 a. m. 
to 10 or 12 p. m. It was necessary to do this in order 
to cook bread for the i ,800 men wlio garrisoned the fort. 
Such exposure and overwork produced heart disease, 
and he was discharged July 20, 1862, but was unable 
to reach home until two months later. 

Mr. Jones is now living at West Chester, Penn. 

JOSEPH A. JACOBS. 

Perhaps no man has been better known in town 
during the past fifty years than Comrade Jacobs, who 
was l)orn in Wilmot, N. H., May 23, 1S29. He 
came to Pittsfield February 14, 1838, and has al- 
ways made this town his home. He is a shoemaker 
by trade, but for five years before the war he worked 
as a painter. He married Sarah A. Eaton, December 
29, 1852, and when he enlisted had tw^o children. 
5 



qS pittsfield i^ the rebellion. 

He entered Company G, Seventh New Hampshire 
vokmteers, September 20, 1861 ; was made a sergeant 
and then promoted to the rank of Heutenant December 
29, 1S63. For a long time he commanded his com- 
pany. He served with his company at Manchester, 
New York city, Dry Tortugas, and St. Augnstine, 
Fla. From there he went to Hilton Head, and then 
to Folly island, S. C. ; next to Morris island, and 
Beaufort hospital, where he remained until he recov- 
ered from his wound ; then he went back to Morris 
island, and from there to St. Helena island ; to Jack- 
sonville and Lake City, Fla. ; back to Jacksonville, 
then to St. Helena island, and from there to Bermuda 
Hundred, Va. 

He was in the battles of Fort Wagner and Olustee, 
Fla., besides sixteen skirmishes. At Wagner he re- 
ceived a bad wound in the thigh, and the Minie ball 
has never been removed. He has a calfskin pocket 
book that was in his trousers at the time he was shot, 
the ball cutting through it, and struck two cents, one 
of them of the old-fashioned copper variety ; these 
were badly bent, but caused the ball to glance, which 
saved his leg from being broken, thus saving his life. 
He was just crossing the ditch when struck. The 
guns of the fort had been silenced mostly, but as the 
regiment rushed forward to take possession, the rebels 
opened fire with howitzers at each end, enfilading the 
ditch, cutting our men down by the hundreds. At 
the same time they opened the gates and let in the 
water, drowning every man who w^as unable to climb 
out. At Olustee he was again wounded. 

He has a sword which has on the scabbard this in- 
scription : ^'' Presented to I^ieutenant y. A. yacobs 
by his friends. Pittsjicld, N. H.^ Dec. 24^ 1863."" 
At one time during the Virginia campaign he wore 
this sword continuously for eight days. 

Jacobs always liked a joke. John Brock, whose 
sketch appears elsewhere, was a member of his com- 
pany, and Jacobs alvvavs speaks in the highest terms 
of liis comrade. Whenever Jacobs was sent on any 



EDWIN A. KELLEY. 99 

expedition he always took Brock with him. Now 
Brock was a great hand to argue. No matter what 
the subject of conversation was, he would want to get 
up an argument, and so interested would lie become 
that he would take no notice of anything else. One 
time when they were on picket together, some subject 
was started just as they had begun to eat their dinner. 
Brock kept talking, while Jacobs kept eating: the 
result was that Jacobs ate up Brock's dinner. 

Jncobs often took a man at his word. One day 
while in camp in Florida one of the men had a severe 
attack of homesickness. As he lay on the ground he 
cried, — 

*' Oh, I wish I was dead. " 

Jacobs inquired, '• Why do n't you cut your throat 
then?" 

''I can't, " said the sick man, "I wish some one 
would cut it for me. " 

'" All right ; I'll cut it for you, " said Jacobs, taking 
out his pocket knife and opening the small blade. 
Taking hold of the loose skin on the man's throat, he 
thrust the knife through and ripped it out, making a 
gash only skin deep, but three or four inches long. 

'' Oh, I'm killed ! I'm killed ! " shouted the victim, 
jumping to his feet; ''the blamed fool has cut my 
throat ! he has cut my throat, " and he rushed to the 
surgeon to have his wound dressed. He at least was 
never troubled with homesickness, a disease, if I may 
use such a term, with which many of our men suffered 
and some of them died. 

EDWIN A. KELLEY 

was one of the most popular young men in tow^n. 
He was a son of Samuel G. and Amanda M. (Sleep- 
er) Kelley. While he lived here, he attended school 
in the old brick school-house on the west side of the 
river, and worked at shoemaking, as a seamster, for 
various parties. 

He was born in Gilmanton, March 5, 1S43. When 

i-ofa 



lOO PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

his father moved to Pittsfield young Edwin came with 
him, being at that time only five years of age. He 
enlisted in Company F, Twelfth New Hampshire 
volunteers, and was mustered into service September 
5, 1S63. 

At the terrible Battle of Chancellorsville he went to 
the rear to assist a wounded comrade, R. T. Leavitt, 
from the field. He had but just laid his friend upon 
the ground and seated himself upon a drum by his 
side, exhausted by his excessive labors, when he was 
struck in the head b}^ a piece of a shell and killed 
instantly. His age was twenty years and two months. 

Comrade Leavitt as an act of remembrance has 
placed Comrade Kelley's picture in this volume. 

WILLIAM T. KNIGHT. 

I have been unable to trace the early history of this 
brave soldier. He spent his boyhood in Northwood, 
with an inhuman family who deprived him of every 
advantage which boys should have. He came to 
Pittsfield about 1S5S, being at that time man grown. 
Here he learned to read. He w^orked first for Charles 
Jackman, then for John 13. Merrill, and last for 
ElbridgeTrue. He was a very gentlemanly appearing 
fellow\ and was among the first to enlist, perhaps be- 
cause his shopmate, H. M, Gordon, had already done 
so. He was mustered into Company E, Second Nev^ 
Hampshire volunteers, June 3, 1861. He was in the 
Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1S61, and on the retreat 
"■ broke down, " from the excessive heat, was sent to 
the hospital, and discharged and came home August 
29, 1861. 

After his discharge from the Second New Hamp- 
shire volunteers, he married Miss Sarah Pitman, of 
Barnstead, and bought a house on Watson street. 
He enlisted again in Company B, Twelfth New 
Hampshire volunteers, and was made corporal. He 
served with his regiment in all the various campaigns, 
and was in some twenty battles and skirmishes without 



JOHN F. LOCKE. 1 01 

getting hit. He was a member of the color-guard, 
where the best men are put, and at hist, in the terrible 
battle of July 2, 1863, at Gettysburg, he was shot to 
pieces, — one ball through the body, one in his foot, 
another in his arm, and one in his leg and others else- 
where ; his back was also broken. It seemed as 
though fate, which had defended him before and 
brought him through so many conflicts, deserted him, 
and that the death angel determined to make sme that 
he did not escape. He was a true soldier, comrade, 
and friend, and if he had had the early advantages of 
most boys, he would have been, had his life been 
spared, an honor to the town and a blessing to the 
community. 

JOHN F. LANGLEY. 

John F. Langley was from Nottingham. He en- 
listed first in the Third regiment, and was a lieuten- 
ant in Company E. He resigned July 3, 1862, and 
came home to Pittsfield where his father had lived, in a 
house at the east end of Main street, for many years. 
He was commissioned captain of Company F, Twelfth 
New Hampshire volunteers, September 8, 1862. 
After the Battle of Chancellorsville, the colonel of his 
regiment commanded the brigade, and he, having 
been raised to the rank of major, February, 1864, and 
the other officers above him being either sick or dis- 
abled, commanded the regiment until after the Battle 
of Gettysburg, where he was injured. Just before the 
Battle of Swift Creek he lost his voice, and never has 
been able to speak aloud since. He was honorably 
discharged September 22, iS6^. 

Of his early life I have been unable to learn any- 
thing. 

His address at present is Amherst, N. H. 

JOHN F. LOCKE 

was born in Roxbury, Mass., March 8, 1840. He 
came to Pittsfield about 1857, ^"^ married Miss Sarah 



102 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

Watson, by whom he had two children. He enlisted 
in Company D, Fifteenth New Hampshire volun- 
teers, and was mustered into service October 8, 1862, 
and served with that regiment until the expiration of 
his term of service. He was mustered out August 13, 
186;^. He was a shoemaker by occupation. He re- 
turned home and died a few years later. 

JESSE P. LANE. 

Dnring the winter of i86o-'6i, Jesse P. Lane at- 
tended the academy. In March he left town to work 
at his trade as wheelwright, in Lawrence, Mass. The 
call of President Lincoln for three-months troops was 
answered bv the governor of that state by ordering 
out the militia. There was a vacancy in Company 
H of the Fourth regiment, which Jesse P. Lane 
gladly filled. The Fourth Massachusetts -regij-nent 
was the first from the entire North to go to the defence 
of the country. They sailed from Boston April 17, 
1861, and landed at Fortress Monroe on the 19th. 
They were part of tiie brigade commanded by Gen. 
Butler, two regiments of which went by land, and 
were in the ever memorable fight at Baltimore on the 
19th of April. During this service Comrade Lane 
contracted a severe cold, which terminated in con- 
sumption, of which he died September 8, 1865, at 
his father's house, aged 27 years, 7 mofiths. 

He was born in Pittsfield, January 28, 1838, was a 
son of Paul C. and P21iza (Perkins) Lane, and was a 
young man very highly esteemed by all. 

HENRY B. LEAVITT 

was born in Chichester, on Loudon road, not far from 
Kelley's corner. He attended school in his native 
town," and then went to Parsonsfield (Maine) semi- 
nary. He was a powerful exhorter in the Freewill 
Baptist denomination, and for several years a success- 
ful teacher. In 1850 or 1851 he commenced the study 



HENRY B. LEAVITT. 103 

of law with the late Charles Butters of Pittsfield, and 
in February, 1853, ^^^ ^^^ admitted to the bar and 
opened an office in Barnstead, where he remained one 
year. Then he returned to Pittsfield and to the office 
formerly occupied by United States Senator Moses 
Norris, Jr. In 1S56 he stumped the state for Fremont. 
He was a ready debater and a most eloquent speaker. 
A plea that he made in court at Concord about tliis 
time created a profound sensation throughout the 
state, and is often spoken of at the present time as one 
of the most powerful arguments ever delivered at 
the bar. 

He recruited Company G, Seventh New Hamp- 
shire volunteers, and was commissioned captain No- 
vember 23, 1 86 1. He served with his regiment until 
he was wounded at Fort Wagner, at 2 p. m., July 18, 
1863. He lay on the battle-field in the hot sun for 
over twenty-four hours without food or drink, and 
was then taken to Charleston, S. C, where he died 
from the amputation of his leg July 22, 1863. 

He was a Mason, and was cared for by members 
of that fraternity while a prisoner, and his gold watch 
and nearly $300 in money were sent through the lines 
to his family. 

About twenty years later a sword was found on the 
battle-field of Wagner, on the scabbard of which was 
engraved " Presented to Captain H. B . Leavitt 
by tiventy-Jive loyal citizens of Pittsjield^ A^ H. " 
Correspondence was opened with the postmaster of 
this town, and the rusty weapon was sent to his 
family. 

His father was Moses Leavitt, who at one time 
kept toll-gate at Chichester, on the old Portsmouth 
turnpike. 

Captain Leavitt was a man of overbearing temper 
but of dauntless courage. Even while a boy this trait 
was prominent. A friend relates that at one time his 
father's pig escaped from his pen. Young Henry 
with others attempted to capture it. As it passed 
him he grappled it and was thrown, but he held on 



I04 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

and was dragged some distance before the others came 
to his assistance. At hist the shote was phiced in his 
pen, and it was discovered that Henry's arm was 
broken. This same bull-dog: courasre was one of the 
leading traits of his life. 

REUBEN T. LEAVITT, JR. 

One of onr best known citizens is Reuben T. 
Leavitt, a native of Pittsfield, his birthday being No- 
vember ir, 1S39. He was a son of Reuben T. and 
Nancy K. (Brown) Leavitt. While quite young his 
parents moved to Concord, but after a few years re- 
turned to Pittsfield. They afterwards lived in Suncook. 
Then they moved to Concord, where Mr. Leavitt was 
register of deeds. Here they remained several years, 
but the father was appointed keeper of Whale's Back 
lighthouse and thither the famil}' went and remained 
over six years. Young Reuben, then man-grown, 
was able to aid his father in his duties. But the old 
man's heart vearned to return ag^ain to Pittsfield, 
where he had lived so many years ; accordingly he 
bought a fiu'm on the east side of Catamount moun- 
tain, to which he removed about the year 1S60. There 
he and his wife, after being married nearly seventy 
years, died, and there the son Reuben still resides. 

Comrade Leavitt enlisted, August 16, 1S63, in 
Company F, Twelfth New Hampshire volunteers. 
He went with his regiment to Washington, and was 
in the Battle of Fredericksburg, through which he 
passed unscratched. 

On Sunday morning, May 3, 1S63, he was in the 
Battle of Chancellorsville, when he was struck in the 
knee by a Minie ball and fell to the ground. His 
comrades, Edwin A. Kelley and John H. Philbrick, 
carried him from the field and placed him behind a 
log house. The rebels were massing to make another 
charge on our lines, and our artillery were trying to 
prevent them. A shell from our guns burst over their 
heads, and a piece struck Kelley in the tiead, killing 



JOHN C. MORRILL. lO^ 

him instantly. As he fell he lay across the leg of 
Comrade Leavitt, who had to call for help to have the 
hody removed. Our forces were driven back, and 
Leavitt was a prisoner in the hands of the enemy. 
Not until Wednesday did they get any food, then only 
a little flour, which they mixed with water and drank. 
For twelve days he was iield a prisoner, and no care 
was bestowed on his wound except to pour a little 
cold water on it. If proper care had been given it he 
would not have been disabled for life. At length he 
was paroled on the field, and our ambulances came 
and got him and his wounded comrades, and took 
them to Potomac creek, and placed them in the hos- 
pital. His brother, Charles B., came and took him 
home, where careful nursing saved his life. The 
surgeons in the army wanted to cut his leg oft', but 
Leavitt would not consent. 

JOHN C. MORRILL, 

a well known citizen of Pittsfield, was born in this 
town, March 14, 1837. ^^ ^^^ ^ ^^" of Jacob and 
Mary Morrill. He lived in Pittsfield, attending school 
and working on his father's farm until he enlisted, 
Dec. 5, 1 861. He was mustered into Company G, 
Eighth New Hampshire volunteers, at Manchester, on 
the 23d of the same month and was at once made ser- 
geant. He remained with the regiment until his dis- 
charge, July 5, 1862, at Camp Parapet, La. The 
exposure which this regiment sufi^ered I described in 
our local paper January 28, 1892, as follows: 

Thirty years ago, on Jan. 24, 1862, the Eighth New 
Hampshire regiment left the state in a driving snow storm. 

In the fall of 1861 the Seventh and Eighth regiments went 
into camp on the old fair grounds in Manchester, bounded 
by Elm, Webster, Union, and Penacook streets. During 
October and the first of November the weather was very 
pleasant, but after that we had a regular old-fashioned winter. 
During December the weather was extremely cold ; the senti- 
5* 



Io6 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

nels as they walked their beats froze their faces, ears, and 
hands. A part of the time we were short of rations, for, 
according to regulations, a company could draw rations for 
what men there were the day before ; if there were twenty- 
five men we drew rations for them, and if a squad of twenty- 
five more arrived during the night then all hands must sub- 
sist on half rations. Then we had a lot of visitors and of 
course these must be fed, but army regulations made no pro- 
visions for them. When we could get permission to go to 
the city, those of us who had money would get a square 
meal. Most of the men of Company G, Seventh regiment, 
belonged in Pittsfield and surrounding towns, and in the 
Eighth regiment were many of our citizens. When the for- 
mer regiment left, how we envied them ! The snow then 
was about two feet deep on a level, and we had nothing but 
canvas tents to protect us from the inclement weather of a 
New Hampshire winter. 

Ten days later we received orders to march. On digging 
away the snow we found our tent pins frozen fast in the 
earth, and only by splitting the pins could we release the 
ropes that held our tents. Down Elm street we marched, 
caring not for the fast falling snow. We took the cars and 
in due time arrived in Boston ; here the snow had turned to 
rain. We were taken out into Haymarket square, where we 
remained in the pouring rain some two hours while the 
officers could find a place to put us. Finally we were 
marched through the slush, half-knee deep, to Faneuil hall, 
and two companies of us put in the attic of the building, 
where there had never been a fire, and the next morning our 
clothing was frozen stiff. During the day we had some 
boiled ham, brown bread, and coffee, the first warm food 
for forty hours. That evening we went on board a tug- 
boat for Fort Independence. How the wind cut us as we 
sailed down the harbor ! It was after dark when we arrived 
at the fort and we were huddled into the casemates without 
food or fire. There was not room for us all to lie down at 
once. The next morning our company were given the best 
rooms in the fort. There were three of them, one a bed- 
room, which our officers occupied, a kitchen of ordinary 
size, and another room about twenty feet square. Here our 
company of loo men were huddled for three weeks. The 
onlv fire was in the range in the kitchen. This range was a 
small affair intended for the use of an ordinary family ; of 



JOHN C. MORRILL. I07 

course we could furnish to the men warm food but once a 
day. 

About the 12th of February there came a storm of sleet 
that froze as soon as it fell, covering everything it touched 
with a coat of ice. On the 15th we went on board the ves- 
sels, four companies on the " Eliza and Ella,'''' the rest of us 
on the '■'■ E. Wilder Earley,'' ■^ full-rigged ship. It was Sun- 
day night, and very cold. The vessel was covered with ice; 
the ropes were so stiff that but few of them could be worked. 
A steam tug took us down the bay, while we soldiers hud- 
dled together in the dark hold to keep from freezing. Mon- 
day morning the sailors shook out what canvas they could, 
while we land lubbers, in our overcoats and blankets, were 
crowding between decks like a flock of sheep to keep warm. 
Soon most of us were sea sick, and between that and the 
extreme cold I think it was the most miserable day of my 
life. Tuesday morning we struck the gulf stream, and it was 
as warm as June. As we crawled on deck the water was 
running from the rigging, chunks of ice were continually 
dropping, and one man was severely injured by an icicle 
dropping on his head. The warm air was full of sea birds 
seeking their morning meal. Soon we, too, began to think of 
breakfast, but there was only one stove for six hundred men 
and during the voyage we had but one meal a day, except 
hard tack ; this we took from Fort Independence. It was 
baked in 18 10, but was sweet and good but 7je?y hard. On 
Friday we passed the Bermuda islands ; the thermometer 
stood eighty in the shade. 

Some people are surprised that men should be used up so 
soon in the army, but I wonder that there is one of that 
ship's load of soldiers alive to tell the story of our sufferings. 
Living as we had done, short of food and almost unprotected 
from the extreme cold of a severe New England winter, then 
to be transported so suddenly to a hot cUmate, no wonder 
the men sickened and died. 

When we got among the Bahama islands a calm came 
upon us. Not a breath of air rippled the surface of the 
ocean. The long swells of the tide caused our vessel to rise 
and fall, but we did not move a rod. There was not air 
enough to even flap our sails against the masts. The sun 
poured its torrid rays straight down upon us. Between 
decks, where our bunks were, the air was stifling. The wind 
sail, that had been rigged to give ventilation to the hold, 



lo8 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

hung idle and flat over the deck. The sailors stretched some 
old canvas to give us shade. Under this the soldiers lay and 
panted with the extreme heat, and thought of the icy north 
they had left but a short time ago. 

The short pipe from the cook's range would not " draw," 
so nothing could be cooked, and we had to content ourselves 
with hard tack and water. The men spoke in subdued tones 
as though in the presence of the dead, and were we not? 
All nature, as far as we knew, was dead. The porpoise and 
sea-birds that had followed us for days had disappeared, and 
not a fish rippled the glass-like surface of the ocean. It was 
the stillness of silence. This was having a terribly depress- 
ing influence on the men, so Colonel Fearing organized, on 
the second or third day, an election. We would vote for 
governor of New Hampshire, -^to be sure we did not know 
who had been nominated in our state, nevertheless, we 
named our own candidates and went through the entire form 
of town meeting, — and I will say that the Democratic ticket 
had three times as many votes as the others, showing the 
previous affiliations of the men of this regiment. 

At the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico stand two light- 
houses ; from the deck of a vessel no land can be seen. 
These lighthouses rise sheer out of the water and the sailors 
call them the "stick in the mud,'' but on the chart they are 
named the Great and Little Isaac's lights. The water is very 
clear and shoal. As we stood on the deck of our vessel we 
could see the rocks at the bottom of the water. No vessel is 
allowed to pass after the lamps are lighted at night. We 
arrived there just as the first flash of the light shone across 
the sea, and at once dropped anchor. Before dark eight 
vessels were anchored near us, two of them had French 
troops aboard on the way to Mexico, and one other contained 
the Seventh New Hampshire that had left us in Manchester. 
They were on their way to the Dry Tortugas. We commu- 
nicated with the other vessels by writing with chalk on a 
blackboard and hanging it over the side of the vessel. How 
we cheered our comrades when we learned who they were. 

HEZEKIAH B. MORRILL, 

now of Haverhill, Mass., was a man of prodigious 
strength and of an iron constitution. Coming from a 
line of long-lived ancestry he inherited a vast amount 



PETER P. MOODY. ~ . 109 

• 

of vitality, and it was owing to this fact that he alone 
of all the men from this town was able to withstand 
the trying climate of Ship Island and serve out his 
time. Gen. Butler in his farewell address, published 
Dec. 15, 1862, speaking of Ship Island, said, "With- 
out a murmur you sustained an encampment on a 
sand bar so desolate that banishment to it, with every 
care and comfort possible, has been the most dreaded 
punishment inflicted upon your bitterest and most 
insulting enemies." 

He was a brother of the above J. C. Morrill and 
was born in Pittsfield in 1831, and always resided 
here until he enlisted. He married Sarah A. Sanders, 
and had two children, when mustered into Company 
G, Eighth New Hampshire volunteers, December 23, 
1861. He endured all the hardships which this regi- 
ment suffered until after the Battle of Baton Rouge, 
when he was taken sick and sent to the Marine hos- 
pital at New Orleans. When he wanted to return to 
his regiment, the doctors refused to let him, saying 
that he was so broken down he would be of no use 
there. Therefore he was transferred to the Invalid 
Corps, where he remained during the remainder of 
his term of service. 

PETER p. MOODY, 

son of Wm. P. and Lucy J. (Moore) Moody, was 
born in Loudon, March i8, 1844, and moved to Pitts- 
field, Dec. I, 1851, where his father had bought a 
house near Chichester line. Here Plummer, as he 
was always called, lived until he enlisted in the Fifth 
Massachusetts Cavalry, Feb. 12, 1S64. He served 
with this regiment until his discharge, June 23, 186'J. 
For a time this regiment was employed in guarding 
prisoners at Point Lookout, Md., then they were 
engaged in what is known as the siege of Petersburg. 
After the evacuation of that stronghold, they chased 
Lee's army up to and through Richmond, it being the 
first regiment to enter the city. While on duty here 



no PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

Moody was injured in the knee by coming in contact 
with an artillery caisson, making a stiff joint for life. 

MARTIN MULLIGAN 

was born in Sherbrooke, Province of Qiiebec, Nov. 
12, 1830. His father's name was John Mulligan, his 
mother's maiden name v^as Mary Kelley. He first 
came to Pittsfield about the year 1852, and was 
employed as a farmer previous to enlistment — was 
never married ; served in Company D, Fifth New 
Hampshire volunteers. He was discharged in Janu- 
ary, 1863, from the general hospital on account of 
disability. Reenlisted October 19, 1863, in Com- 
pany D, Third Massachusetts cavalry, as a private. 
He was in the battles of Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, 
Oak Swamp, Malvern Hill, and Nichols Gap, and 
was also in the Red River campaign. He received 
a gun-shot wound in the left fore-finger at Oak 
Swamp ; was at one time detailed to guard stores at a 
place called Soldiers' Rest, in the rear of the White 
House. 

He has pleasant recollections of President Lincoln, 
who frequently visited the guards, sometimes accom- 
panied by Mrs. Lincoln. At one time in the Red 
River campaign, when on a retreat, Mr. Mulligan 
met a colored man with a mule. On the back of the 
mule were two bags of corn, and as Mulligan had just 
had his second horse shot from under him he ordered 
the colored man to give up his mule and corn to him, 
which he reluctantly did. Afterwards, when in camp, 
Mulligan used the mule to draw camp wood by tying 
a tent rope to tlie wood and tail of the mule. He was 
discharged at the close of the war on the 28th day of 
September, 1865. 

JEREMIAH M. MARSTON. 

I have been able to learn but little in regard to this 
soldier. He was a native of Pittsfield, a son of Jere- 



JOHN B. MERRILL. Ill 

miah and Rhoda (Maxfield) Marston, and always 
resided in town until he enlisted in Company F, 
Twelfth New Hampshire volunteers. He was mus- 
tered into service September 5, 1S62, and served until 
the close of the war, taking part in nearly all of the 
battles and skirmishes in which his reg-iment was 
engaged. He is reported by his comrades as being a 
first-class soldier. He is now living somewhere in 
Kansas. 

EDWARD HARDEN 

owned a house on Concord street. He was mustered 
into Company G, Seventh New Hampshire volun- 
teers, November 23, 186 r, re-enlisted February 27, 
1864. He came to this town from Candia, I am told, 
and was fireman in the cotton factory for several 
years. 

DAVID C. HARDEN 

was a son of the above. He was employed in the 
cotton factory, and enlisted at the same time and in 
the same company with his father. He was wounded 
February 20, 1S64, and mustered out of service 
December 22, 1S64. Both of these men lived to 
return home. After searching a long time to find 
them I only got tlie address of David the day of his 
funeral, and have therefore been unable to learn anv 
farther particulars concerning them. 

JOHN B. HERRILL 

was a son of James and Mehitable (Bradly) Merrill ; 
was born in East Concord ; came to Pittsfield about 
1849. He was a shoemaker and brickmaker, and mar- 
ried Miss Eleanor Johnson, by whom he had several 
children. Enlisted in Company F, Twelfth New 
Hampshire volunteers, September 5, 1862, and was 
killed at the Battle of Chancellorsville, May 3, 1S63. 
Mr. Merrill's father was a soldier in the War of 181 2, 
and was captured by the British and held as a prisoner 



Il2 PiTTSFiELD IN THE REBELLION. 

for some time, being taken to England and confined 
in the celebrated prison at Dartmoor. His mother 
was a daughter of Richard Bradly, once governor of 
New Hampshire. 

Mr. Merrill was a man of sanguine temperament 
and always in good spirits, but for two or three days 
before the Battle of Chancellorsville he seemed to be 
down-hearted, and his face wore a solemn expression. 
Some of his comrades rallied him for this, asking if 
he were sick. No, he was not sick. 
"Then what does ail you, any way?" 
" Bovs," he replied, "it is no matter to laugh at, 
but I shall be the next man killed in this company, 
and it will be at the beginning of the next battle." 
And his words proved true, for scarcely had the fight 
begun at Chancellorsville when he was killed. An 
officer who heard him make the above prediction said 
that he watched him particularly. At first he seemed 
to waver for an instant, then stepped foward to duty, 
the next instant to fall. The premonition of death 
often was felt in the army, but it as often proved to be 
only a nervous feeling, and as soon as it passed away 
no more was thought of it, but when it proved too 
true then the dead man's comrades treasured up the 
remembrance of the incident. No matter whether 
this feeling was a forewarning of death or not, it 
required the highest kind of courage to go forward 
and do one's duty, believing that it would be the last 
act of life, and that certain death awaited you ere 3'ou 
could accomplish your undertaking. 

J. D. MESERVE 

was a member of Company B, Seventh New Hamp- 
shire volunteers, mustered into service November i, 
1 861. He was missing at Fort Wagner, S. C, July 
18, 1863. 

Of this man I have been able to learn but little. 
I found his name among my memoranda kept during 
the war, and the town books show that his family 



WILLIS MOSES. 113 

lived here, for they drew state aid, to which all 
families of soldiers were entitled. 

A careful inquiry among the families of that name 
living in this vicinity fails to discover one with the 
above initials or one who served in the Seventh regi- 
ment, but from statements made by other parties I am 
satisfied that he was a son of Ira and Sarah (Garland) 
Meserve. He was known among his friends as Dana 
Meserve. 

CHARLES W. MOONEY 

was a son of Rev. S. S. and Martha Mooney. His 
father bought a farm on Berry Pond road, where he 
lived about the beginning of the war. Charles at 
that time was too young to enlist, but in the summer 
of 1864 he entered Troop D, First New Hampshire 
cavalry, and was mustered into service June 35, and 
served until the close of hostilities. His present resi- 
dence is unknown. 

WILLIS MOSES, 

now of North wood, N. H., was a member of Com- 
pany F, Twelfth New Hampshire volunteers. He 
was mustered into service September 5, 1862, and 
served until the close of the war. He was at the Bat- 
tles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. At the 
latter he was severely wounded in the head by a piece 
of shell, but recovered in time to take part in the Bat- 
tle of Gettysburg. 

While stationed near Portsmouth, Va., he was 
taken sick and sent to the hospital at that place. 
From here he was transferred to Fort Schuyler in New 
York harbor, and after his recovery he returned to his 
regiment and participated in all the engagements in 
which tliis famous regiment took part. At the close 
of the war he was mustered out with the rest of the 
command. 

He was born in Epsom, March 28, 1839, ^"^^ ^^^ ^ 
son of Samuel and Mary (Trickey) Moses. His 



114 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

early life was one of great hardship. He came to 
Pittsfield when but sixteen years of age and worked 
at shoemaking until he enlisted. 

In another place I have spoken of the raid from 
Point Lookout into Virginia under command of Colo- 
nel Oilman Marston. This expedition was composed 
of about two hundred infantry from the 2d and izth 
New Hampshire regiments and one hundred regular 
cavalry. The intention was to capture a conscript 
camp near Heathville, Va. Moses was a member of 
this expedition, and he recalls the following incidents 
of the four-days' raid : 

When near Heathville, Orren Brock, of this town, 
and another soldier started for a house that stood at the 
end of a lane. As they approached, two rebels ran 
from the house to the woods. Brock told his com- 
panion to watch the house and shoot any one who 
might appear, while iie, Brock, would run up and 
capture an ambulance, with a pair of fine horses 
attached, that stood near the building. This was 
done. Brock turned the team, his companion got in, 
and they soon overtook their command. Colonel 
Marston rode up and asked what he had got. Brock 
told him that the ambulance contained a fine saddle 
and bridle and a lot of papers. The colonel told him 
to take care of the ambulance and pick up any men 
who might tire out, but to give him the papers, and he 
and his adjutant, Lawrence, would look them over. 
They proved to belong to the oflicer in command of 
the conscript camp. That night Brock was detailed 
to go on guard, but lie told the sergeant that Colonel 
Marston had ordered him to care for the ambulance, 
and that some one else must take his place. The 
officer had barely gone, when Brock put the saddle 
and bridle on one of the horses and rode out about 
half a mile, where he found a negro woman driving a 
fine pair of oxen attached to a pair of wheels. He 
rode up to her and demanded the whip with which 
she was driving. This was given him, and he rode 
into camp, and was received by his comrades with 



GEORGE F. MESERVE. II5 

cheers, for it was a novel sight to see a man on horse- 
back drive an ox team. 

The next day, Colonel Marston, his adjutant, and 
an orderly rode to a house, out of which ran several 
of the enemy. The adjutant fired his revolver at 
tliem. Just then the orderly's horse jumped so that 
the ball struck the poor soldier in the head, killing 
him instantly. His body was placed in the ambu- 
lance and taken along. 

The enemy had fled, taking away the conscripts, so 
the expedition turned toward the coast. When they 
arrived at the place of embarkation, the vessels could 
not get near the land, owing to shoal water. So 
Brock's horses and oxen were put to work to haul 
lumber and build a wharf. This was hardly com- 
pleted and the troops aboard, when the enemy 
appeared with about a thousand cavalrymen, but too 
late to capture the daring Yankees from New Hamp- 
shire. 

An old adage is, "Familiarity breeds contempt." 
These men had become so used to death in all its 
forms that I have been told that when those who 
became exhausted on this march were placed in the 
ambulance, they would go to sleep, using the dead 
body of the orderly for a pillow. 

GEORGE F. MESERVE 

enlisted in 1862 in Company F, Twelfth Regiment. 
He was made a corporal, and was wounded May 3, 
1863. He was reported as missing at Petersburg, 
Va., May i6, 1864. He was taken prisoner at that 
time and carried to Richmond ; from here he was 
transferred to Andersonville, Ga., where he died from 
starvation. He was a son of Frost Meserve, who 
lived in the east part of the town. He married a Miss 
Emerson a short titne before he enlisted, who lived 
with her uncle, Ira Emerson. 

There is some question whether Meserve enlisted 
from this town or not. Most of the evidence shows 



no PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

that he resided here at that time, and from the fact 
that he married a lady who had always lived here and 
who continued her residence for years afterwards, I 
have concluded to place his name among Pittsfield 
soldiers. 

A soldier of this town, who had been away on a 
furlough, was returning to his command, when he 
reached Bladensburg, Md., 1 think. A man came 
into the car, shouting, '' Right this way for dinner, 
only fifty cents ; right this way, train will stop thirty 
minutes for dinner — only fifty cents." Our friend 
thouglit he could do justice to a good dinner, so he 
followed the man into the dining-hall, took a seat at 
the table, placing his haversack and canteen in a chair 
by his side. After eating what he wanted he went to 
the desk to pay his bill, and was told it would be one 
dollar. 

" But," said the soldier, "your man in the car said 
it would be fifty cents." 

"It is fifty cents a seat," was the reply, "and as 
you occupied two seats you must pay for both." 

The money was paid, and our soldier went for his 
things. Taking up his haversack, he said, "Now I 
have paid for you, darn you, you have got to eat," and, 
to the consternation of the proprietor, he stowed away 
three days' rations. 

RICHARD S. MORRII.L 

was a sailor, who made his home with his brother, 
Zelotus W. Morrill, formerly a well known citizen of 
Pittsfield, with whom his wife resided when he was 
at sea. 

After a voyage he was at home in iS6i, and enlisted 
and was mustered into Companv B, Fifth New Hamp- 
shire volunteers, October 23, 1S61 ; was soon after 
taken sick, and died November 13, 1861, at Epping, 
where he had gone to the home of his wife's parents. 
He was buried in that town. 



JESSE M. MASON. II7 

WILLIAM WARREN MORRILL 

was a brother of the above Richard S. Morrill. War- 
ren, or '' Wad," as he was called, was also a sailor, a 
very strong, rugged man. He enlisted in Company D, 
of tlie Seventh New Hampshire volunteers, and was 
mustered into service, November 6, iS6i, and was dis- 
charged for disability, July 20, 1862. He came home 
and died at his sister's in South Pittsfield, and is 
buried in that part of the town. 

HENRY B. MORRILL 

was another brother of the above. He, too, was of a 
roving disposition, and during his army life it got 
him into trouble. He enlisted first in Company G, 
Eighth New Hampshire volunteers, but not liking 
the restraints ot camp life, was not mustered. He 
enlisted in Company F, Twelfth New Hampshire 
volunteers, and was allowed to make up his lost time 
by serving in the Second regiment without pay. He 
was not a deserter, but had a habit of being '' absent 
without leave" when there was any service to per- 
form. He is supposed to be dead. 

JESSE M. MASON 

was born in Chichester, N. H., February 22, 1830; 
son of Edmund and Clarissa (Ingals) Mason. He 
moved to Pittsfield in 1S54, and by occupation was a 
shoemaker, and lived here until he enlisted, Aug. 11, 
1862, and was mustered into Company F, Twelfth 
regiment, New Hampshire volunteers. After passing 
through the various battles in which his regiment was 
engaged, he was wounded at the Battle of Cold Har- 
bor, June 3, 1864. 

His regiment was ordered to charge with the bayo- 
net upon the enemy. As Mason was rushing forward 
in the position so well known to all old soldiers, his 
right hand clasping the breech of his gun, with the 



Il8 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

arm thrown back and elbow bent, he was struck in 
the shoulder by a Minie ball, which entered near the 
collar bone and came out at the elbow, causing a fear- 
ful wound. He was taken to the rear, his wound 
dressed, and then sent to Finley hospital, Washing- 
ton, D. C. Here he remained for some time, and 
was then sent to a hospital at Augusta, Me. From 
here he went to Concord, N. H.,and was placed in bar- 
racks on the plains east of that city. Gangrene, that 
dread of all wounded men, had set in, eating away 
the walls of one of the arteries, and ail at once the 
blood spurted out, covering the clothes of his bed with 
the crimson tide. Trueworthy Eaton, a citizen of this 
town, who happened to be present, says that it looked 
as though a hog had been stuck, the bed-clothes were 
so covered with blood. When the wound broke open 
the blood spurted some three feet into the air. A 
surgeon who was on duty at once took up the artery, 
and for several days Mason remained in an uncon- 
scious condition. Although the gangrene dissolved the 
ligaments that held the collar bone in place so that it 
came out, giving Mason a stoop-shouldered appear- 
ance, yet he recovered so that from Concord he was 
sent back to Augusta and then transferred to Webster 
General hospital at Manchester, N. H., where he 
was discharged, June 3, 1865. His wound is rated 
as equal to loss of arm at elbow. 

He married Mary J. Lewis, daughter of Rev. Sim- 
eon Lewis, of Dover, N. H. She died December 25, 
1S62, leaving four children, the eldest scarcely six 
years of age, the youngest but a few days. There 
were no relatives of either father or mother to care 
for these children. He is now living at Keene, N. H. 

JAMES M. MASON 

belonged to a patriotic family. He was a brother of 
David B. Mason, of Company G, Seventh New 
Hampshire volunteers, also of John C. Mason, Com- 
pany G, Fifteenth New Hampshire volunteers, and 



DAVID B. MASON. II9 

another brother, Charles F., enlisted from Loudon in 
Company F, Twelfth New Hampshire volunteers, the 
same company in which the subject of this sketch 
served. These four brothers were nephews of 
Jesse M. Mason, also of Company F, Twelfth regi- 
ment. 

James M. Mason served very faithfully until Decem- 
ber, 1862, when he was taken sick and was neglected 
by the officers whose duty it was to look after him. 
It is thought by his comrades that if he had had proper 
care he might have recovered. On January I3, 1S63, 
he was discharged at Falmouth, and carried on board 
a boat for transportation home, where he died. 

When the regiment went into winter quarters at 
Falmouth, Va., in the winter of i862-'63, one of 
the Company F boys sent home for a barrel of dried 
apples, and procuring an old stove, started in making 
pies. He complained that the inside would run out 
in the oven between the upper and under crusts. One 
of his comrades told him that he must do as Aunt 
Betsey did at home, spit on his fingers and rub it on 
the under crust, then the upper crust would stick to 
it, "for," he continued, " spit is a good deal better than 
water, and twice as handy." It is said that he fol- 
lowed these directions with entire success. 

DAVID B. MASON, 

a brother of the above James M. Mason, was born in 
Chichester, November 13, 1839. He came to this 
town in 1859 ^^ work with his uncle, Jesse M. 
Mason. He enlisted from Pittsfield and was mustered 
into Company G, Seventh New Hampshire volun- 
teers, November 23, 1861. He was discharged at 
New York city, January 8, 1863, being at that time 
sick and pronounced incurable. He returned home, 
and died in Loudon in May, 1865. He is buried in 
a small graveyard in Chichester near the Pittsfield 
line. 



120 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 



JOHN C. MASON, 

a native of Chichester but residing in Pittsfield when 
he enlisted, was mustered into Company G, Fifteenth 
regiment, New Plampshire volunteers. He had one 
of those happy dispositions that are alwa\'S merry. 
Under all circumstances he was cheerful and happy. 
He was a faithful soldier, ever ready for duty. He 
belonged to a patriotic family ; all of his brothers 
and uncles enlisted. When his regiment was home- 
ward bound he was taken sick at Sandusky, Ohio, 
from drinking milk thought to have been poisoned, 
and when the regiment reached Cleveland young 
Mason was dead. This was August 3, 1S63. 

JEREMIAH MARSTON 

was a very quiet young man. He was a son of 
Orren C. and Susan M. (Marston) Marston, and was 
born at Tamworth, N. H., April 10, 1843. ^^ 
moved to Pittsfield with his parents in 1854, and 
worked with his father as a shoemaker. In the sum- 
mer of 1862, with his neighbor and friend, R. T. 
Leavitt, he came to the village and enlisted in Com- 
pany F, Twelfth New Hampshire volunteers. He 
served with his company and took part in nearly all 
the battles in which they were engaged until June 3, 
1864, when he was struck in the groin by a bullet and 
bled to death before medical aid could reach him. 

GEORGE E. NUTTER 

owned a house on Concord street. He enlisted in 
Company G, Seventh regiment. New Hampshire 
volunteers, and was mustered into service November 
23, 1861, and was discharged for disability June 5, 
1863. His comrades speak in the highest praise of 
him, but of his history I can learn nothing more. His 
post-office address is Farmington, N. H. 





John W. Page. 
George Reynolds. 
H. L. Robinson. 



J. H. Prescott. 
L. W. Osgood. 
J. M. Mason. 



LEWIS W. OSGOOD. 12 1 



JOHN D. NUTTER 

was a shoemaker by trade. He came to Pittsfield in 
1858 from Barnstead, where he was born, a son of 
Samuel D. and Ruth M. (Knowles) Nutter. 

He enHsted in Company F, Twelfth New Hamp- 
shire volunteers, September 5, 1863, and went with 
the regiment south. On the 17th of October the regi- 
ment moved from Washington to Knoxville, Md. 
The night before Nutter had been on guard. The 
day was warm, and he climbed to the top of the 
freight cars in which the regiment was riding. Just 
at dark he fell asleep, and as the train rounded a 
curve he rolled off into the bushes. He was not 
injured, but, thoroughly awake, he at once started 
after his comrades. It was a long tramp for a tired 
man — nine miles — but he reached his regiment early 
the next morning. 

He was engaged in all the battles of his regiment 
except Chancellorsville ; at that time he was detailed 
to drive team. He was a good soldier and an expert 
shot, and generally in every fight he was detailed as a 
sharpshooter. At the Battle of Gettysburg he was 
wounded in the left ankle, while helping his comrade, 
Ira Merserve, from the field. He served until the close 
of the war, and was mustered out with his regiment. 

His home is now in Lynn, Mass. 

LEWIS W. OSGOOD 

was captain of Company G, Fifteenth regiment, New 
Hampshire volunteers. He was one of the finest 
looking men who went into the army. A lady in 
New Orleans said that he resembled very closely Cap- 
tain Semmes, of the rebel pirate, Alabama, — indeed, 
when she first saw him she thought it was her friend. 
Captain Osgood was full six feet high, broad should- 
ered, with a very pleasant countenance and pleasing 
address. He was a son of Greenleaf and Nancy (Mer- 

6 



122 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

rill) Osgood ; his father was a well known merchant 
of this town. He was born in Belmont, then a part of 
Gilmanton, July 31, 1S35. ^^ attended school in that 
town, fitted for college at the seminary in Tilton, and 
entered the Wesleyan university at Middletown, Conn., 
in 1856. 

While getting his education he paid his way by 
teaching. For some time he, assisted by his sister, 
Augusta, taught the academy at Loudon Mills, N. H. 
As soon as he graduated, he commenced the study of 
law in the office of Minot & Mugridge in Concord. 
In 1862 he raised a company of men, a large part of 
whom were from Pittsfield and adjoining towns. 

So popular was he with his men before they left the 
state, that they voluntarily subscribed money and 
bought him an elegant sword, which they presented 
to him, — indeed the sword was so fine that, according 
to army regulations, a line officer could not wear it, 
and permission had to be obtained from the command- 
ing officer to allow him to do so. 

He served with the regiment at Long Island, Car- 
roUton, La., Camp Parapet, La., and Port Hudson. 
At one time he was assistant provost-marshal of Car- 
rollton. During the siege of Port Hudson, Captain 
Osgood was wounded in the leg. The wound was 
considered slight at first, but, owing to the debilitated 
state of his system, he was sick for a long time. He 
was first sent to Baton Rouge and placed in a hospital ; 
from there he went to New Orleans, but finally 
rejoined his regiment at Port Hudson a few days 
before they started for home. But he did not take 
command of his company again ; for months after 
he reached Pittsfield he was confi led to his room. 
His discharge is dated August 13, 1863 — cause, expi- 
ration of term of service. He lived in or near Boston 
when he died, twenty years ago, from disease con- 
tracted in the service. 



JOHN W. PAGE. 123 



JOHN W. PAGE 



was born at Hampton Falls, September 10, 1833. He 

was a son of James and (Smith) Page. He 

came to Pittslield to live in the year 1852 and married 
Mandana Lock, of Epsom, and had two children liv- 
ing when he enlisted in Company I, of the Sixth New 
Hampshire volunteers, being the only man from this 
town in that regiment. 

He was mustered into the United States service, 
November 28, 1861, at Keene, N. H., and soon after 
left for Washington. This regiment was a part of 
Burnside's expedition to Cape Hatteras, and was after- 
wards stationed at Roanoke Island, then at Newbern, 
N. C. From here they went to Aquia Creek, Va., 
then to Falmouth, and soon after took part in the 
engagement at Slaughter or Cedar Mountain. They 
then went to Washington Junction, and were in the 
fight at that place ; then to Mannassas Junction, and 
were in the second Battle of Bull Run. From there 
they marched to Fairfax Court House, and crossed into 
Maryland, and were in the terrible Battle of Antietam. 
Here his comrade, G. Melvin Sherburn, lost a leg, and 
Page was detailed to care for him, so was not in the 
next two battles in which his regiment was engaged. 

The regiment then w^ent to Kentucky ; they first 
guarded a stockade to protect the bridge at Frankfort, 
then they went to Louisville, from there to Bowling 
Green, then to Russell ville in Tennessee. Wliile on 
this march Page says they were short of food, and one 
of his comrades got a can of cucumber pickles, hold- 
ing about two quarts, and ate them all, — which killed 
him. 

While in this section the men got very lousy, one 
man's shirt was so full of these ^'greybacks" that it 
would move, as the insects crawled over it. One of 
the men did a lot of washing for the company, and so 
many lice came to the surface of the water that it 
looked like a kettle of rice. 



124 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

From June 15 to July 4, 1863, he was with Gen- 
eral Grant's army besieging Vicksburg, and scarcely had 
this stronghold surrendered when his regiment, with 
others, was sent to Jackson, Miss., and from July S 
to the 15th they were engaged with the rebel army at 
that place. 

Page reenlisted in the field December 19, 1863, 
and came home on a furlough, after which he rejoined 
his regiment at Washington. He was in the Battle of 
the Wilderness May 6, 1864, then the disastrous Bat- 
tle of Cold Harbor, and throuo:h the siege of Peters- 
burg without getting wounded, although his clotliing 
was pierced several times. Just as the rebels evacu- 
ated the last named place, a spent grape shot struck 
him on the head, rendering him unconscious for a sea- 
son — not breaking the skin, but raising a large lump 
on his forehead. His resfiment marched through 
Petersburg and were stationed at Burksville when Lee 
surrendered. 

As soon as the war closed the regiment came home 
and was mustered out of service at Concord. Page 
immediately returned to Pittsfield, where he has since 
resided. 

JOHN H. PRESCOTT 

was born in Pittsfield, where the high school building 
now stands, October 14, 1840, and was the oldest son 
of John and Mar}^ (Clarke) Prescott. A few years 
later his fatlier exchanged his village residence for a 
farm in the southern part of the town, where he spent 
his early years, having but little time or opportunity 
for mental culture ; but his ambition to acquire knowl- 
edge, strengthened by his own native energy, and 
aided by such assistance as his parents were able to 
render him, suffered not the years of his adolescence 
to pass without securing for himself so much of an 
academic education as was sufficient to lay the founda- 
tion of his future usefulness. 

On the 1 8th day of August, 1S62, he enlisted in 
Company F, Twelfth New Hampshire volunteers, 



JOHN H. PRESCOTT. 1 25 

and acted as commissary sergeant of the regiment un- 
til receiving liis first commission, in December of the 
following year. From that date to the end of the w^ar 
he was most of the time on detached duty, acting as 
aide-de-camp on the staffs of Generals Wistar, Stead- 
man, Smith, Weitzel, Potter, and Donahue, and par- 
ticipating in the battles of Bermuda Hundred, Swift 
Creek, Drury's Bluff, Port Walthall, Cold Harbor, 
Siege of Petersburg, Cemetery Hill, and the capture 
of Richmond. 

He was also present with his regiment, although 
not in the ranks, at the great battles of Fredericks- 
burg, Gettysburg, and Chancellorsville, in all of wdiich 
he stood manfully at his post of duty, regardless of 
toil or danger, and in the last named proved that the 
blood of his grandsire, Samuel Prescott, of the Revo- 
lution, still coursed in his veins, by begging permis- 
sion of Colonel Potter to leave the supply train and 
follow his regiment into battle, which he did until a 
rebel bullet pierced the visor of his cap, and he found 
himself busy, far in advance of the stretcher-bearers, 
in caring for the wounded and dying, and in disarm- 
ing the stray "• Johnnies " that he found inside our 
lines. 

At Port Walthall, while dismounted for the purpose 
of reconnoitering the position of the enemy, he sud- 
denly but unwillingly presented himself as a conspicu- 
ous target for a score or more of rebel cavalry, who, 
with levelled carbines, demanded his surrender, and 
only saved himself from capture or death by a cool 
head and swift feet. 

He was brigade officer of the day when Richmond 
was evacuated, and one of the first, after the picket 
line, to enter the city ; and probably the very first 
Union soldier that ever voluntarily entered within the 
walls of Libby prison. Finding himself at early morn 
inside the fortifications of the rebel citadel, his first 
thought was of the Union soldiers confined in that 
loathsome prison-house, and he immediately hastened 
thither, only to find it, like the Southern Confederacy, 



126 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

but an empty shell. A large key that he picked up 
on one of the floors he carried away and kept as a 
prized relic of that noted building, and a quick re- 
minder of the day when he first visited it. Many 
other interesting incidents o( his armv life, illustrative 
of his experiences as a soldier and characteristic of 
the man, might be written if space permitted. Sep- 
tember 2, 1864, he was promoted to captain, which 
rank he held, though deserving a much higher, when 
discharged from the service June 21, 1865. 

Captain Prescott was a fine scholar and did not 
entirely relinquish his studies even while in the army, 
for he sent home by a comrade and secured some 
books, which he studied wdiile in winter quarters. He 
was very popular, not only with his schoolmates and 
friends, but with his comrades in the army as well. 
His death at Salina, Kan., in 1891, caused deep 
mourning among his many friends. 

JOHN H. PHILBRICK 

came to Pittsfield about 1857, *° work at shoemaking. 
He was a son of John H. F. and Martha (Ham) 
Philbrick, and was born in Epsom, January 17, 1836. 
January 5, 1859, he married Mary A. Durgin, of 
Pittsfield. and when he enlisted, in September, 1862, 
he left two children with his wife. 

He was promoted to corporal February 2, 1863. 
At the Battle of Chancellorsville, the following May 
3, he was slightly wounded. He was promoted to 
sergeant December i, 1863. He took part in the 
battles of Fredericksburg, Swift Creek, Drury's Bluft\ 
At Petersburg he was again wounded, this time in the 
neck. 

While the regiment was encamped at Point Look- 
out, during the winter of i863-'64. Sergeant Philbrick 
was sent home on recruiting service, and after his 
return he served with the regiment until his discharge 
at the close of the war. I understand that Philbrick 
is now in Danvers, Mass. 



ALBERT G. H. RING. 1 27 

ALFRED C. RICHARDS 

was a well known musician in this town. For many 
years he taught the art of singing in this and adjoin- 
ing towns. He was born in Goffstown, N. H., 
November 3, 1835. He was a son of Eaton Richards 
and Lucy J. Moore. He first came to Pittsfield with 
his mother, who had married William Moody, in 
1842. Two years later he moved to Loudon, and 
from there to Chichester; then in 1852 he came to 
Pittsfield, and resided here until he enlisted. In 181^7 
he married Miss Susan P. Eastman, and is now living 
in Deerfield. 

On the 29th day of July, 1861, he enlisted in Com- 
pany B, Third New Hampshire volunteers, and served 
continuously until his discharge, July 28, 1865, by 
reason of the close of the war, — making exactly four 
years' service. Having enlisted the first time for three 
years, he reenlisted at Hilton Head, S. C, on the 
24th day of February, 1863. 

He was on detached duty for some time in the 
ordnance department, and stationed at Botany Bay, 
S. C, under Captain Ordway. After Morris Island 
he was again detailed as cook in the hospital at that 
place. He took part in every engagement that his 
regiment participated in, except that at Fort Fisher, 
being at that time on detached duty. He was severely 
injured at Graham's Plantation, on Hilton Head 
Island. He served in the army under the name of 
Moody. 

ALBERT G. H. RING 

always made his home in Pittsfield, where he was 
born April 29, 1825. He was a son of Richard and 
Mary F. Ring. He was a painter by trade, and often 
went to Massachusetts to work for a season. While 
in Boston he enlisted a year or two before the war in 
the afterward famous Nims' Battery. 

When the war broke out this battery went into 



128 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

camp near Boston, and while drilling Ring was injured 
so that he could not be mustered into service. He 
came home to Pittsfield, and as soon as he recovered 
he enlisted in Compan}^ G, Seventh New Hampshire 
volunteers, and went into camp at Manchester. There 
was such a demand for men that understood battery 
drill that he jvas transferred to Comstock's battery, 
which became Battery M, of Third Rhode Island 
heavy artillery. 

When his son, Charles O. Ring, was killed, he 
applied for a furlough to go to Pinckney Island and 
get the body, but could not get one. He called on 
General Hunter and laid the case before him, and this 
officer issued a special order directing Ring to procure 
the body of his son, transport it to Concord, and then 
report for duty at Washington. This he did, and 
remained in the fortifications around that cit}^ until 
the close of the war. 

While waiting here for transportation to his regi- 
ment, the rebels under General Early made their 
famous raid on the capital. Ring volunteered in a 
regiment of infantry that was organized for tempo- 
rary service in Washington, and did good service in 
defending the city from the enem}'. This action of 
Ring's caused a confusion of the accounts of the pay- 
master, for Ring had drawn pay while in the tempo- 
rary service, and was also borne on the rolls of his 
battery as a member. It was several years later before 
he secured his pay. He died August 2, 1889, at 
Pittsfield. 

Comrade Ring was very active in forming the 
Grand Army post in this town, and they have had 
his picture inserted in this history. 

CHARLES O. RING. 

One of the popular young men in this town in 1S61 
was Charles O. Ring, who was born in Barnstead, 
March 14, 1844. When but nine months old his 
mother, Mary A. Ring, moved to Pittsfield. Here 



ALBEE R. REYNOLDS. 



129 



Charles grew to manhood, attending our public school 
and academy. 

In 1861 he enlisted, August 23, in Company H, 
Third New Hampshire volunteers, in the same com- 
pany that his cousin, John Brooks, served. The regi- 
ment left the state Septeml:)er 3, and proceeded to 
Port Royal. On the night of August 2i, 1862, while 
his company were sleeping in a house on Pinckney 
Island, the enemy surprised them ; some of them 
jumped from the windows and saved themselves, but- 
young Ring seized his rifle, rushed out of the door, 
and took his place beside his captain. Here he 
received five bullet wounds, and as he fell he crawled 
under the house ; but the rebels were not content to 
let him die thus, and stabbed him seven times with 
the bayonet. After the enemy was repulsed he was 
taken to the hospital, where he lived twelve hours. 
On the way he begged of his comrades to take his 
knife and cut the boot from his wounded foot for he 
suffered intense pain from the bayonet wounds ; they 
did so, and it relieved him at once. 

His father, A. G. H. Ring, who belonged to the 
Third Rhode Island heavy artillery, obtained per- 
mission, went down, secured the body, and brought 
it home, reaching Concord September 11, 1S62. 

He was buried in the rear of the town hall, but 
after the new cemetery was opened his body was 
removed to that beautiful resting-place of the dead. 

ALBEE R. REYNOLDS 

enlisted in Company G, Seventh New Hampshire vol- 
unteers, and was mustered into service November 23, 
1 86 1, and was mustered out December 22, 1864. 

He was born in Candia, September 21, 1843, ^^^ 
when about twelve years of age he came to Pittsfield 
to live with his uncle, the late Owen Reynolds. He 
was a shoemaker by trade ; married Miss Josephine 
Eaton, and had one child. If alive, his residence is 
unknown. 
6* 



130 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 



HENRY L. ROBINSON 

was born near Ewer's Mills, East Concord, N. H., 
May 13, 1 841. October 11, 1856, lie came to Pitts- 
field to live and learn the trade of shoemakinsf. He 
attended the public schools at Concord and Pittsfield, 
and at the academy in the latter town, — working at 
his trade night and morning to pay his way. 

On the breaking out of the war, he at once enlisted, 
driving to Concord the same night that news had 
been brought to town that a recruiting office had been 
opened there, but was rejected for physical reasons. 
Again in July he enlisted, and was again rejected. 
October 28 he enlisted, and was mustered into Com- 
pany G, Eighth New Hampshire volunteers, and was 
made company cook. He served with his company 
at Manchester, N. H. ; Fort Independence (Boston, 
Mass.), and Ship Island, Miss., where he was taken 
sick and sent to the hospital, and discharged April 10, 
1862. 

As there were no ambulances on the island, he was 
carried in a blanket by his comrades some two miles, 
and laid on the sand in a tent to wait until a ship was 
ready to convey him home. He was carried in the 
same manner on board the Undaunted and placed in 
a bunk. There were some six hundred sick on board 
beside the crews of two blockade-runners, and onlv one 
doctor, and the only remedy he had was Epsom salts. 
But as soon as the ship sailed, and the "wind-sails" 
were put in place, giving a cool draught of air, many 
of the sick began to revive. 

General Butler, in his book, in speaking about the 
water on Ship Island, and telling how it was pro- 
cured by sinking a headless barrel in the sand, says. — 
"But I learned another fact about it; and this was 
that after a few davs the water would become impure, 
emitting a very perceptible and otlbnsive odor of de- 
caying animal matter, and then that barrel would have 
to be abandoned." Now General Butler don't know 



HENRY L. ROBINSON. I3I 

how Ship Island water can stink. The Undaunted 
was supplied with iron tanks on deck. These were 
very rusty, and were filled with Ship Island water 
for the use of the troops. The rolling of the vessel 
washed the rust off so that the water was the color of 
floor paint ; and as it rotted, as all stagnant water 
will, the smell was so offensive that the men had to 
hold their noses when they gulped it down. 

When off Cape Hatteras the vessel was struck by a 
squall ; the main and mizzen masts were broken off, 
and all of the sails of the foremast but one were blown 
away, and the beautiful ship was a drifting hulk. The 
vessel had sprung a leak, and the pumps had to be 
worked every day to keep her afloat. When off Cape 
Cod, signals were made, and a tug came out and 
towed the transport to Boston where she arrived June 
2. Robinson was conveyed to Camp Cameron, near 
Boston, where he was paid the first money he had 
received since enlisting. 

After the Undaunted was wrecked, the men were 
put upon an allowance of one pint of water, such as 
has just been described, per day. The thirst of the 
men almost crazed them. As they lay on the hot 
decks of the vessel, visions of cool springs at home 
were constantly in their minds. Robinson wrote, soon 
after reaching home, to a friend : 

On the east side of Catamount mountain, opposite the 
Berry school-house, is a spring of the purest water that ever 
gushed from the bosom of earth. This water is cool and 
delicious in summer, and never freezes in winter, the green 
moss atound it showing amid the snow, like a handful of 
summer thrown into the lap of winter. After our wreck this 
spring was continually before my mind ; I would think of it 
by day and dream of it by night. 

The sailors had plenty of good water aboard, but we were 
not allowed any of it. Once, while between decks where 
our bunks were, I tried to find a cooler place near the ship's 
water tank. It was perfectly dark. In feeling along the top, 
my hand came in contact with the cover of the man-hole 
that was used in cleaning out the tank when in port. It was 



132 PiTTSFiELD IN THE REBELLION. 

fastened so that I could not move it. That night I secured 
a bar, and, with the help of one or two comrades that I had 
let into the secret while the others were at breakfast, 
removed the cover. But the water was too low for us to 
reach with our dippers, so one of us procured a bottle and 
some "spun yarn.'" We got a sailor to show us how to 
"gauge" the yarn to the bottle ; then we lowered it into the 
tank, and by working it back and forth were able after a long 
time to get a swallow of pure water ; but it was a slow, 
tedious process, and but a very few of the six hundred men 
aboard the vessel received any benefit from it. 

Soon after his return to Pittsfield his health began 
to improve and be enlisted in Company G, Fifteenth 
regiment, October 11, 1863. I make the following 
extract from the history of the Fifteenth, written by 
Charles Mc Gregor of Nashua : 

The next day after landing at Carrollton, La., he (Robm- 
son) was sent on detached duty, driving team for a few days ; 
then he went on a flag-of-truce boat, the Zephyr, to Sabine 
Pass in Texas to get a lot of men, women, and children that 
had been held as prisoners of war by the rebels for twenty- 
two months, having been surrendered by General Twiggs. 
It was the Eighth regiment of regulars. The condition of 
these poor people he says w^as extremely deplorable. They 
had received no pay or clothing during all of this time. 
There was only a piece of an overcoat in all of the regiment, 
no tents — only a tent-fly — and these people had marched 
eleven hundred miles, the men carrying the women and 
children when any of them were sick. One child was born 
on the march. After resting for three days, the mother and 
child were placed in the tent-fly and carried along by the 
men. 

After his return to Carrollton from this expedition, 
he was made ambulance master for the Department of 
the Gulf. Atone time he was to go to Bonet Carrie 
to examine some ambulances. As the distance was 
some thirty miles, most of which was outside of our 
lines, he made arrangements to go with a wagon- 
master by the name of Miller, who was to make the 



HENRY L. ROBINSON. I33 

j trip the next day.- That night Robinson was restless 

' and could not sleep. The moon was shining brightly 

so he concluded to saddle up his horse "Stonewall," 
and make the journey in the night. Taking a nose- 
bag of oats for his horse he started. When he got 
about half way at a place called the Doctor's planta- 
tion, he stopped, fed his horse, took a bite of hard- 
tack himself, and then pushed on. He arrived at 
Bonet Carrie by daylight and at 8 o'clock had com- 
pleted his business. 

Now he had had many disputes with Miller in regard 
to "Stonewall," Robinson claiming that his horse could 
go farther in twenty-four hours than an}' other horse 
in Louisiana. By 9 o'clock he was again on the road, 
thinking to meet Miller at the doctor's or the little 
red church at noontime. 

As he neared the spot, intending to surprise 
Miller, he was himself surprised by seeing Miller's 
wagon train making east on the road that led in that 
direction from the doctor's house, across the country. 
They were some three fourths of a mile away. 
Taking off his hat and swinging it he gave a terrific 
yell, and drawing his revolver he discharged it in the 
air, at the same time urging his horse forward. He 
passed the doctor's house, and around the corner of 
the road he then saw that the teams had halted. 
Thinking that Miller had lost his way he then jogged 
along slowly. 

When he reached the wagon train he learned that 
while the mules and men were eating their dinner, a 
company of rebels had swooped down on them, 
made them their prisoners, and were taking them off 
into the Confederacy, but when they saw him coming 
they had abandoned their booty, and taking Miller 
with them had fled. 

Taking charge of the teams Robinson started for 
Carrollton. At an abandoned plantation he loaded 
up with sugar, putting two hogsheads in each of the 
twenty-two wagons. He did not reach the Parapet 
until after dark and was passed through by the officer 



134 



PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 



of the guard, who happened to be Lieutenant Joseph 
G. Avers of his own company. 

The next morning he turned over to Post Quar- 
termaster Holmes over thirty tons of sugar. This 
officer placed Robinson in charge of this wagon train, 
which position he retained as long as he was in the 
service. 

A few days later Miller returned, having been 
paroled. He said that the rebels thought (and he 
shared their belief) that a whole company of our cav- 
alry were after them, while Robinson declares that 
if he had known the situation, he should have turned 
and fled to Bonet Carrie. 

After that Robinson was busy moving supplies, 
hauling wood, etc., to the various regiments at Camp 
Parapet. One time while getting wood he was shot 
at bv a bushwhacker, and his horse was wounded so 
that he died. He also went on an expedition to Bloxi, 
Miss., with a Texas (Union) regiment of cavalry. 

When General Banks made his first movement to 
Port Hudson, Robinson went with his teams, and 
after Banks's return, he started with the army up the 
Tesche, but was taken sick and sent back to Carroll- 
ton, then to Camp Parapet ; but when he arrived at 
the latter place, his regiment had gone to Port Hud- 
son, where he rejoined it after an absence of nearly 
eight months. 

Soon after taking charge of the wagon train he 
went with a lot of wood to the Fifteenth New Hamp- 
shire. While his men were unloading, one of the 
lead mules kicked over the traces. Robinson took a 
whip, and commenced striking the animal to make him 
kick back. Lieutenant-Colonel Frost came along and 

said : 

"Stop striking that mule! Take hold of his foot 
and put it back." 

" I don't dare to," was the reply. 

" I will never ask a man to do what I dare not do," 
said the officer, as he stepped forward and reached for 
the quadruped's foot. But that mule had no respect for 



DANIEL W. ROBINSON. I35 

shoulder-straps and let drive, striking the lieutenant- 
colonel a terrific blow, landing him in the mud some 
two rods away. Soon afterwards the officer resigned. 

DANIEL W. ROBINSON, 

better known as " Webb," a brother of the above, was 
born at East Concord, May 10, 1S43 ; came to Pitts- 
field in 1858, to work at shoemaking with Samuel D. 
Davis; remained in town until he enlisted and was 
mustered into Company A, Fifth New Hampshire 
volunteers, October 12, 1861. 

He served with this regiment through the Peninsu- 
lar campaign. While engaged in building bridges 
across the swamps of the Chickahominy he contracted 
rheumatism and disease of the heart and was sent to 
Shipping Point and placed in a hospital. He was 
discharged May 14, 1863, and sent home. He arrived 
at his father's house in Concord on the night of June 
I, a mere skeleton. He was at that time hardlyable 
to move. 

I cannot refrain from giving an extract from Colonel 
Cross's report of the service of the Fifth New Hamp- 
shire in 1862, showing some of the hardships which 
the men of this regiment had to endure. On the loth 
of March they were ordered to Warrenton. Colonel 
Cross says : 

" On the march to Warrenton Junction the entire force were 
obliged to ford creeks and rivers — some of them waist-deep, 
crossing five of these fords in one day. Guard and picket 
duty was severe, the weather cold and rainy, the roads almost 
impassable. Often the men could build no fires, often the 
ground was so wet and muddy that they could not lie down. 

There were no tents, no wagons, no cooking utensils but 
tin cups. We endured these hardships for thirty-one days. 



The weather was cold and wet when we reached Shipping 
Point (April 5), and the men were obliged to wade ashore 
from the vessels and camp on the water-soaked earth with 



136 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

no tents. My regiment was at once set to work making 
' corduroy roads ' through a swamp, and building bridges. 
Added to this hard labor in mud and water, the locality itself 
was very unhealthy." 

As soon as he was able be returned to Pittsfield and 
worked at his trade. He married Ann, daughter of 
the late John C. Berry, and had one son. Not satis- 
fied with his first experience as a soldier he enlisted 
in Troop D, First New Hampshire cavalry, June 25, 
1864, and served with them until the spring of 1865, 
when his old enemy, rheumatism, again attacked him 
and he was discharged just as the war closed. He is 
now a prosperous farmer at Wautoma, Wis. 

GEORGE H. REYNOLDS 

was born in the town of New Durham, May 29, 1840, 
and was shot at Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863. Mr. 
Reynolds was a student in the academy at the break- 
ing out of the war. He had previously lived in town 
for several years, and both among the citizens and his 
schoolmates he had many warm friends. On his last 
visit to Pittsfield he met many of his friends in the 
academy hall. He told them he should never see 
them again ; when he left the state it would be never 
to return. His friends tried to get this idea out of his 
head, but in vain. While aiding a wounded comrade 
he was shot and killed, as above stated. 

He was a member of Company F, Twelfth New 
Hampshire volunteers. He was as popular among his 
comrades as he had been among his townsmen. 

WILLIAM O. RING. 

In the western part of Pittsfield lived Jeremiah 
Ring and his wife, Mary (Nutter) Ring. They had 
but one child, W. O. Ring, who was born on the old 
homestead, August 21, 1841. He lived with his 
parents until the breaking out of the war, when he 







Chas. O. Ring. 
George Snell. 
G. H. Sanborn. 



W. O. Ring. 

C. L. SWEATT. 

A. G. H. Ring. 



WILLIAM O. RING. 1 37 

wanted to enlist, but his parents opposed it and in- 
duced him to go to Newport, Vt., and work in a 
sash and bh'nd shop. 

Soon after the raid by the rebels on St. Albans, Vt., 
he joined a company of cavalry at Newport to serve 
in the state ; but finding that he would see no active 
service, he left, went to Boston, and enlisted in Com- 
panv E, Twenty-third Massachusetts infantry, and was 
sent to Galloupe's Island. He had been here some time 
before his parents learned what he had done. He 
went with his command to Fortress Monroe, from there 
to Norfolk, Va., then to Roanoke Island, from there 
through the Dismal Swamp canal to Morehead City, 
then to Newbern, N. C. He was in the skirmish at 
Kingston, and the Battle of Goldsboro. From there 
tliey marched to Raleigh, then back to Newbern. 
This was what is known in history as the "Goldsboro 
Raid." It helped Sherman in his march througli the 
Carolinas, which finally closed the war. The regi- 
ment was so reduced that it was placed on provost 
duty guarding the city, and forwarding supplies to 
the army that was fighting Johnson. Ring remained 
here until the close of hostilities, when he was dis- 
charged, and has ever since lived in this town. 

During the raid already alluded to, Ring was de- 
tailed to act as a forager. In company with a comrade 
he rode up to a house that stood some forty rods 
from the main road. The buildings were of the same 
character found in that portion of the South. In the 
lane leading to the house they found a sow with a 
litter of pigs some eight or ten weeks old, that were 
plump, pretty little fellows. The two men hitched 
their horses to the fence and at once gave chase. 
The hog and her babies ran into a building that was 
evidently intended for their home, the only door being 
about two feet high. Ring's comrade ran around the 
building to drive the occupants out by pounding on 
the boards, while Ring got down on hands and knees 
beside the door to catch the pigs when they ran out. 

So intent was he in peeking through a crack, 



138 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

watching the pigs, that he paid no attention to the 
woman who appeared on the scene with a hickory 
broom, and he received a blow on his person where 
he least expected it, and where he has never been able 
to examine it — in fact it was where his mother applied 
the slipper when she chastised him. 

Just then the pigs made a dash for the door. As 
they rushed through Ring caught two by the hind 
legs, who at once set up a most unearthly squealing. 
Armed with these he commenced to defend himself 
from the attacks of the woman and broom, and soon 
he was chasing her around the buildings and finally 
into the house, — he continually swinging the pigs, and 
she making double-quick time with her broom at 
" right shoulder shift." More of his comrades com- 
ing up, the rest of the booty was soon secured. 

JAMES W. ROGERS. 

Jacob Rogers kept a hotel in the brick house on the 
corner of Main and Bank streets, now owned by John 
A. Goss. Here, on the 7th of June, 1839, was born 
his son, James W. Rogers. Mrs. Rogers, whose 
maiden name was Hannah Kelly, was a cousin of ex- 
Governor Anthony Colby, who was adjutant general 
of New Hampshire at the time James enlisted. 

He spent his entire boyhood in this town, and 
enlisted in Company B, Second New Hampshire vol- 
unteers, in June, 1S61. His comrades speak in the 
highest terms regarding him as a soldier. His tent- 
mate, N. W. Adams, says that he was one of the best 
in that famous regiment. 

At Point Lookout, where the Second and Twelfth 
regiments were guarding prisoners, Rogers one dark 
night walked off from the stage and fell the distance 
of 16 feet, putting out of joint both wrists. The pris- 
oners were confined within a stockade that was about 
twenty feet high. The stage on which the sentry 
walked was on the outside of this stockade and about 
three feet lower than the top of it. The outside of 



JAMES W. ROGERS. 1 39 

the stage was protected by a hand-rail. At each 
corner were stairs or ladders by which the stage was 
•reached from the ground. It was at one of these cor- 
ners that the accident happened. 

In the second Battle of Bull Run he was wounded 
in the slioulder quite severely. Again, at the Battle 
of Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864, he was wounded in 
the foot. He was subsequently sent to the hospital at 
Philadelphia, where he remained until his discharge, 
August 20, 1864. After a while he again enlisted, 
but was rejected on account of the wound in his foot, 
which would not allow him to make long marches. 

At Harrison's Landing, the rebels were between 
two fires — our gunboats on the river James and our 
army. Some of the shells from our gunboats did not 
burst at the right moment, but passed harmlessly over 
the enemy to l3urst in our own ranks. One of these 
struck not three feet from Rogers and exploded in the 
ground, enveloping him in a cloud of dust and smoke, 
from which he emerged terribly frightened, but with- 
out a scratch or bruise resulting from the affair. He 
is supposed by his friends to be dead. 

While on one of the long marches, food was scarce 
and our friend was hungry. All the houses along the 
route had been cleared of eatables. Jim found an old 
house or hut away from the road, with no one at home 
save a slatternly looking woman and two or three tow- 
headed children. He inquired if she had anything to 
eat that she would sell. She replied that .she had some 
corn pones that she had just baked, which she would 
sell at ten cents each. Jim and a companion seated 
themselves on a log and began eating the bread. Jim 
had devoured about half of one of the pones when 
he found a feather in it. Pulling it out, he called 
out : 

" Here, old woman, is a feather in your pone ! " 
and she replied : 

" Lor', yes ; I 've been tellin' my old man for more'n 
two weeks that he'd got to either move the hen's 
roost or cover up the meal-barrel." 



140 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

EDWARD S. SMALL 

was a grandson of John Small, a Revolutionary sol- 
dier, who lived near where the depot now is. Ed- 
ward's mother married the late Thomas P. Woodman. 
He was a native of this town, and always lived here 
until he enlisted in Company B, Second New Hamp- 
shire volunteers. 

At the Battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1S63, he was 
wounded, but recovered and served out his time, and 
was finally mustered out September 8, 1864. I regret 
that I have been unable to secure more complete data 
for so good a soldier. I am told that he is still living 
near Boston, Mass. 

The Battle of Williamsburg was fought in a cold, 
drizzling rain. Our army had bivouacked the night 
before (which means that they had slept on the bare 
ground, with nothing over them but the clouds of 
heaven). The fight had barely opened when General 
Grover came riding up to the Second New Hamp- 
shire and said, — " I want that New Hampshire com- 
pany with the patent rifles. Where are they ? " (This 
was Company B, armed with Sharp's rifles.) They, 
with Company E, were detached and sent forward as 
skirmishers. In these two companies were the Pitts- 
field men. While they advanced, the brigade formed 
in line of battle. The skirmishers soon came upon an 
abattis of felled trees almost impossible to get through, 
but they wormed their way along, sometimes over, 
but always getting in a shot where there was a chance. 
After passing this abattis, there was an open field and, 
beyond it, Fort Magruder. From this fort a storm of 
shot and shell was poured into the abattis, but our boys 
replied with so much vigor and such deadly aim that 
for three hours they kept the overwhelming rebel 
force at bav. Our men acted as sharpshooters. 

••' There," shouted Small, who had been waiting 
and watching a particular place in the fort, and then 
fired at his man, " I hit that fellow in the head, and 
he was black enough to be a negro ! " • 



CHARLES L. SWEATT. 141 

The next day an Indian sharpshooter was found 
dead at the place indicated by Small, with a hole 
drilled through his head. 

Again : At Chickahominy, these same men were 
detailed as sharpshooters. An old chimney stood 
midway of the field, where a house had been burned. 
A squad of our men, most of them were from this 
town — Adams, Brock, Chesley, Rogers, Small, and 
perhaps some others — took possession of this advanced 
post ; and from this vantage-ground poured a fire 
into the enemy, with such rapidity and deadly effect 
that the enemy abandoned that part of the field for a 
while, and sent a battery to tumble the chimney down 
about our boys' ears. But their comrades in the rear 
were prepared for just this move and had two pieces 
of artillery ready, and before the rebels could unlim- 
ber their pieces we planted one shot fair in their 
ammunition chest, and next killed two horses on one 
of their guns, while the men at the chimney, who had 
received a new supply of ammunition, poured in such 
a deadly fire that the enemy got away from there as 
quickly as they could. 

CHARLES L. SWEATT. 

For years previous to the war Charles Sweatt was 
considered the "crack shot" of this section of the 
state, and after his entry into the service he maintained 
his reputation as a marksman. He was born at Bos- 
cawen, June 4, 1836, his parents being Stephen and 
Judith (Little) Sweatt. In 1844 ^^""^ family moved to 
Pittsfield, where Charles has since resided, except 
three years in Penacook and one year each in Man- 
chester and Worcester, Mass. By occupation he has 
been a miller and general mechanic. He was mus- 
tered into Company F, Twelfth New Hampshire 
volunteers, September 5, 1862, and served with his 
regiment most of the time until the close of the war. 

Soon after the Battle of Fredericksburg, in which 
lie was engaged, he was detailed as orderly at General 



142 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

Whipple's headquarters. Here he was taken sick, 
sent to Fortress Monroe general hospital, then to Man- 
chester, N. H. He rejoined his regiment and par- 
ticipated in the battles of Drury's Bluff', Cold Harbor, 
Petersburg, and several other engagements. 

Besides being a crack shot he was a noted forager. 
He did not believe in going hungry if the enemy had 
anything to eat that he could get hold of. He was 
fond of organizing little parties and scouring the 
country for food. In this matter his views did not 
coincide with those of General Sturgis, in whose com- 
mand his regiment served, and who did not want to 
injure the feelings of the rebels by taking their beef, 
corn, or mutton, because they might get so mad that 
they would never return to the Union. 

One day while our friend and four other comrades 
were busily engaged in helping Uncle Sam supply 
the needs of the hungry soldiers, a squad of General 
Sturgis's men came down upon them and made them 
prisoners for two days ; but this did not stop these men 
from hunting for something to eat when they were 
hungry. 

During what is known as the siege of Petersburg, 
the soldiers were fed on dessicated vegetables, the 
most abominable food ever served to man. I hope 
the inventor of it was hung long ago. Sweatt and 
George H. Sanborn of this town got tired of this, so 
securing some sacks they started out, and after a 
tramp of many miles they filled their bags with cab- 
bage, beets, and turnips, and slinging them on poles 
marched back to camp. The next day Sanborn 
cooked a fine boiled dinner — enough to feed every man 
in the company — and took it to them in the trenches 
when he was so fearfully wounded. 

At another time, they had been living for a long 
time on salt meat, when he discovered a stray calf. 
He did not dare shoot it, for fear of attracting the 
attention of some lurking enemy, so he and his com- 
panions gave chase. It was a long run across fields 
and through woods. At length the animal was 



SYLVANUS SMITH. 1 43 

caught, only to find out that it was so poor that no 
one could eat it and they had to let the poor thing go. 
Recalls this one of the great disappointments of his 
life. His home is still in Pittsfield. 

GEORGE SNELL. 

We now come to one of the most unique characters 
of the war. Mr. Snell was born in Barnstead, March 
29, 1806. His parents were Thomas and Hannah 
(Meserve) Snell. When nine years of age, his family 
moved to Pittsfield, where they remained a short time. 
They then went to Wakefield, and remained one year. 
This was in 1816, known as the famine year. From 
here they went to Rochester and lived four years, then 
to Chelsea, Mass. 

Here Mr. Snell was employed as a brickmaker in 
the yards at Charlestown, and was in the gang with 
John R. Buzzell from this town, who was arrested 
for burning the convent at Somerville, and whose trial 
for the crime of arson, and subsequent acquittal, was 
the most famous that ever took place in New England. 

After this Mr. Snell removed to Pittsfield and took 
up the trade of shoemaking, which he followed for 
thirty-five years. His first wife was Miss Hannah 
Watson, by whom he had three children. After her 
death he married Miss Louisa Jones. 

In September, 1862, he enlisted in Company G, 
Fifteenth New Hampshire volunteers, and followed 
the fortunes of this regiment until the expiration of 
his term of service. For a man of his age he did 
excellent service at Carrollton and Camp Parapet, 
and also during the long siege of Port Hudson. His 
familiar form is still seen on our streets nearly every 
day. 

SYLVANUS SMITH 

was born at Meredith Neck, some time in February, 
1831. He was a son of Elisha and Phoebe (Ring) 
Smith, therefore a nephew of the late Richard Ring. 



144 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

He came to Pittsfield about 1853 or 1854, and worked 
as a butcher for the late J. H. Foss, and still later as 
clerk in a store, and was also at one time in business 
for himself. He married Miss Lizzie Batchelder. 

He enlisted in Company F, Twelfth New Hamp- 
shire volunteers, September 8, 1862, as first lieuten- 
ant, and acted as commissary of the regiment. He 
resigned February 3, 1863. His present address is 
Newington, Conn. 

ISAIAH SWAIN, 

a son of Judith Sargent, was born in Pittsfield and 
always worked on a farm until he enlisted in Company 
G, Fifteenth New Hampshire volunteers. He served 
out his enlistment and was a good soldier. While on 
the way home he was taken sick and left at Cairo, 
111., and was probably carried to Mound City and 
died there. Swain was a man of very small stature, 
too small in fact for a soldier. By putting false soles 
inside of his stockings and combing his hair to stand 
up, he managed to pass muster. One day before be- 
ing mustered the regiment was inspected. As Swain 
stood at the foot of his company he scraped with his 
feet a pile of dirt, on which he stood ; as the colonel 
looked him over he said, — "I guess you will do, for 
what you lack in height you make up in sand." 

CHARLES SPURLIN. 

In the early annals of Pittsfield the name of Green 
stands prominent and for one branch of this family one 
of the streets of our village is named. Charles Spurlin 
was a son of Beniamin and Sarah (Green) Spurlin, 
and was born in Pittsfield, November 7, 1S37. ^'^ 
early life he had an attack of scarlet fever that always 
affected his after life. He was, previous to enlistment, 
a laborer. 

He entered Company G, Seventh New Hampshire 
volunteers, November 23, 1861, and served with that 
organization for three years, taking- part in all of its 



EBENEZER B. SARGENT. 1 45 

marches, and was in nearly every engagement in 
which the regiment took part. While in the service 
he contracted the small pox, which affected his eyes 
for nearly a year. He was mustered out of service 
December 22, 1864, and is now living at Epsom, N. H. 

Some people think it smart, if a person is a little 
weak, to guy him. A man who kept a store in town 
would on all occasions talk to Comrade Spurlin in 
such a way as to make the crowd of loafers that hung 
around his store laugh at the expense of our friend. 
One day he had been a little more overbearing than 
usual, when Spurlin said, " Can you tell me the dif- 
ference between a pancake and a potato.?" After a 
minute's thought the trader replied "No, I am sure I 
can't ; what is it.?" 

Charles answered, "If you don't know enough to 
tell the difference between a pancake and a potato, 
I should n't think yon would know enough to sell 
groceries." 

GEORGE S. SMITH 

was born in Pittsfield, April 14, 1S41. His father, 
Nathaniel Smith, moved to Chichester, where George 
resided until his marriage to Miss Arvilla Fellows, 
when he returned to this town, where their child, a 
daughter, was born. He was mustered into Company 
D, Fifteenth New Hampshire volunteers, October 8, 
1862, and was mustered out August 13, 1863. Com- 
rade Smith went into camp at Concord. While on 
guard he contracted a severe cold which produced 
pneumonia, and this ended in consumption, of which 
he died in December, 1865. He did not leave the 
state. 

EBENEZER B. SARGENT, 

Uncle Ben, as he is familiarly called by his comrades, 
was born in Loudon, April 11, 1821. His father was 
Ebenezer Sargent, a son of Benjamin Sargent, the 
first minister of Pittsfield. His mother was, before 

7 



146 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

her marriage, Miss Annie Batchelder. When Com- 
rade Sargent was quite young his parents moved to 
Pittsfield and lived here until he w^as eleven years of 
age, when his parents went to Epsom to reside. 
There he remained until he was seventeen, when the 
family returned to Pittsfield and ever after made this 
town their home, although for a time Mr. Sargent 
worked in Gilmanton and other towns. Mr. Sargent 
was a shoemaker and farmer, owning a very produc- 
tive farm on the Dowboro road, where he still resides. 
In 1S49 he married Miss Abigail Philbrick, and they 
had a family of nine children. 

At the breaking out of the war, besides this large 
family he had his aged father and mother to care for, 
but in 1864, when the First New Hampshire heavy 
artillery was raised, he enlisted in Company E of 
that regiment, and served until after the close of the 
war. During his service he was taken sick and sent 
to the hospital. When he had partially recovered the 
physicians discovered that he was apt in caring for 
the sick, and his services were retained for six months. 

He was mustered into service September 5, 1864. 
On the 15th of June, 1865, the regiment was mustered 
out of service in Virginia and the next day started for 
home, where Mr. Sargent arrived three days later. 
Mr. Sargent at the time of his enlistment was 43 years 
of age, and was looked upon by his comrades as al- 
most a patriarch. 

He often speaks very highly of his comrades from 
this town, but more especially of Dr. B. H. Bartlett, 
who had charge of the hospital where he was sta- 
tioned for six months, and he delights to get with 
"the boys" and recall the days when they went 
soldiering together. 

Every Memorial Day finds Uncle Ben on hand with 
flags and flowers, to honor the memory of his com- 
rades who have gone before by placing the emblem 
of the country they loved so well, upon their graves, 
and to adorn the same with a wreath of the season's 
choicest gifts. • 



GEORGE H. SANBORN. 1 47 



GEORGE H. SANBORN 

was among the best soldiers that went from PittsfielcJ. 
He was born January iS, 1S36, a son of Abram and 
Abigail (Brown) Sanborn. He was a shoemaker. 

He entered Company F, Twelfth New Hampshire 
vohniteers, September 5, 1S63. He passed unscathed 
through all of the terrible battles in which tiie regi- 
ment took part, until the investment of Petersburg, 
August 18, 1S64, when he was shot through the lungs, 
the ball passing through the left shoulder. It was 
thought to be a fatal wound, and his comrades visited 
him and bade him a sorrowful farewell. He was 
taken to Point of Rocks hospital, then to Foi tress 
Monroe ; from there he went to Grant hospital at 
Wilkes Point, Long Island, and from there was sent 
home. Eight months after reaching home he coughed 
up a piece of the shirt he had on when wounded, the 
ball having carried with it into the wound a fragment 
of that garment. Strange to say he lived some twenty 
years after being so fearfully injured. 

One night at Drury's Bluff he was on picket duty. 
During the time several of the Twelfth New Hamp- 
shire, — among whom was John D. Sherburn — under 
the command of Capt. A. W. Bartlett, tore from 
the poles a lot of telegraph wire and strung it from 
stump to stump in their front. Towards morning the 
rebels made a charge on our pickets, driving them in. 
When Sanborn reached the wire it tripped him up, 
injuring him quite severely in the wrist, and he had 
barely got up and run when the. rebels came on in 
a wild rush, three lines deep, and they too fell head- 
long over the wire, and hundreds of them were killed 
or taken prisoners. Hardly a man escaped. Sanborn's 
comrades all speak in the highest terms of him as a 
soldier. 

During the winters of 1863 and '64 the Twelftli 
and Second regiments were guarding jDrisoners at 
Point Lookout. Some time in February Sanborn got 



148 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

an inkling of a plan for a wholesale escape of these 
prisoners. He reported the facts to his officers. The 
two regiments were put under arms and the prison 
thoroughly searched, when the whole plot was re- 
vealed. It was the most gigantic plot of the kind 
attempted during the war, with possibly one excep- 
tion. The ingenuity displayed by these southern 
men would have done credit to a Yankee. Their 
bunks had been made into boats, the cracks filled up 
with grease, and oar locks cut in the sides, with which 
they intended to cross the Potomac river. Even sev- 
eral muskets with ammunition were discovered. How 
these were obtained is a mystery. Several tunnels 
were also found. Of course extra precaution was 
taken after that to prevent an escape. 

Comrade Sanborn died several years ago in Pitts- 
field. He was very popular with his associates and 
his personal friends here have made arrangements to 
have a correct picture of him in his soldier days 
appear in these pages. 

JAMES W. SHAW, 

a native of Loudon, N H., was born February 5, 
1S37. He moved to Pittsfield with his father, Madi- 
son Shaw, and was engaged at shoemaking until he 
enlisted. On the 30th day of January, 1857, he was 
married to Mary J. Nutter, of Gilmanton, by whom 
he had tw^o children. He was mustered into Com- 
pany G, Fifteenth New Hampshire volunteers ; and 
was promoted to sergeant, which position he held 
when he was mustered out, August 13. 1863. He 
died August 16, 1S63, only three days after his dis- 
charge. Sergeant Shaw made many warm friends 
while in the army. Always ready for duty, he 
expected those who were with him to do theirs. 

The commissioned officers, as a rule, were puffed 
up with a little brief authority ; and, although they 
were very punctilious with the enlisted men about 
obeying orders, were indifferent in regard to them 



GEORGE TUTTLE. 1 49 

when applied to themselves. At one time the line 
officers were in the habit of gathering in the tents of 
each other after taps and having a quiet game of 
cards, or something else. 

The colonel had issued orders that all lights must 
be out at taps, except at the guard-house and iiospital. 
Calling on the guard one day, he foimd that Sergeant 
Shaw's tour of duty was from 8 to 10 o'clock p. m. 
The colonel told him to see tliat this order was en- 
forced. That evening Sergeant Shaw went througli 
the regiment, and wherever he saw a liglit ordered 
it out. He had been the rounds of the line officers, 
but as he approached the held officers' tents he saw a 
bright light in the colonel's tent. Going up, he tapped 
on the tent and called out, — 

" All lights must be out after taps, by order of 
the commander of this regiment," when out went 
that light. The next day the colonel met him and 
said, — 

"• Sergeant, you did just right to make me obey my 
own orders, but I intended to except my quarters as 
well as the hospital and guard-house, — but you did 
just right." 

GEORGE TUTTLE 

moved from Barnstead to Pittsfield in 1S4C5. He was 
a native of the former town, where he was born 
March 20, 1810. He was married, September 29, 
1834, ^^ Miss Judith Davis, by whom he had two 
sons — Hiram A. Tuttle, recently governor of New 
Hampshire, and Henry F. W. Tuttle, who served in 
the Eighteenth New Hampshire volunteers. 

For many years after George Tuttle moved to this 
town he was employed in the cotton factory. Upon 
the breaking out of the war, he enlisted in Company 
G, Seventh New Hampshire volunteers, and was mus- 
tered into service November 23, 1861. He served 
with his regiment nearly seventeen months, but the 
exposure incident to the service was too much for his 



150 PITTSFIELD TN THE REBELLION. 

constitution, which was never very strong, and he was 
discharged June 5, 1863. 

The terrible cold during his encampment at Man- 
chester is narrated in this book under the sketch of 
John C. Morrill, of the Eighth regiment, which was 
encamped near the Seventh, Such exposure to a man 
of Mr. Tuttle's age caused him to be sent to the hos- 
pital when he reached New York city. After he had 
somewhat regained his strength he was detailed as a 
nurse, in which capacity he acted, when able, until his 
discharge. 

He died in Pittsfield, a few years after the close of 
the war, from disease caused by exposure while in the 
service. 

HENRY F. W. TUTTLE, 

a son of the above George Tuttle, was born in Barn- 
stead ; came to Pittsfield when a child ; attended the 
public schools, and worked at shoemaking. He mar- 
ried Angeline Scriggins, and had one ciiild when he 
enlisted in Company C, of the Eighteenth New Hamp- 
shire volunteers, September 14, 1864. He served with 
the regiment until the close of the war. While en- 
gaged in building fortifications near Washington, he 
had the big toe on his right foot cut ofi' by an ax in 
the hands of a careless comrade. He died Januarv 
26, 1885. 

BENJAMIN MANSON TILTON 

was one of the nineteen children of John Tilton. He 
was born on Pancake hill in Pittsfield, January 13, 
1843, and is one of the best known men in town. 
His mother before marriage was Sally Nelson, who 
died when Manson and his twin brother, Daniel P., 
were but two weeks old. Mr. Zachariah Leighton 
took Manson and cared for him two years. His 
father married again. 

He then went home and remained under the parental 
roof until he was seven years of age, when he went to 



BENJAMIN MANSON TILTON. 151 

live with his uncle, Daniel Watson, on Tilton hill, 
and remained with him five years. He then went to 
Barnstead and lived with Oliver Waldron one year, 
returned to Pittsfield and worked for A. J. Pillsbury 
and Edwin Batclielder, when he left to work for his 
brother Nehemiah in Chichester. After a time he 
returned to this town and w^orked for Thomas Mar- 
shall, Winthrop Page, and George VV. Nutter, until 
the first call for troops, when he, in company with 
two others, walked to Concord in the night and 
enlisted in the First New Hampshire volunteers under 
Captain Sturtevant. Owing to some misunderstand- 
ing between the different members of the company, a 
part of them were transferred to Captain Drown and 
taken to Portsmouth as a part of the Second regiment. 
Tilton felt verv badly at this, for he feared the war 
would be over before he could see any figliting. He, 
like all new recruits in those days, was fully armed 
with dirk knives and pistols, and if the Rebellion 
should cease within thirty days, as some predicted, he 
would have no chance to rip a man up with one, or 
shoot him with the other weapon. 

When his regiment was changed from a three 
months to a three years term he had to subdue his 
warlike feelings, because he was not of lawful age and 
his father would not give his consent for him to enlist 
for the longer term. So he returned to Pittsfield, and in 
the summer of 1862, August 14, he enlisted in Com- 
pany F, Twelfth New Hampshire volunteers, and was 
promoted to be corporal about January i, 1863. 

He passed through the Battle of Fredericksburg 
unscathed, but at Chancellorsville he saw a rebel 
hiding behind an upturned root. He said to a com- 
rade, '•'■See me pop that fellow over." Just then a 
Minie ball from another direction struck the lock of 
his gun, glanced, passed through his lungs, shattered 
his shoulder blade, and lodged in his knapsack. He 
has it yet, as a gruesome reminder of that terrible 
fight. Tilton felt no pain, but had a dazed sort of 
feeling. He remembers that he thought he would 



152 pittsfield In the Rebellion. 

get another gun, as his was ruined, and as he stooped 
to pick up one he saw biood running from his shoe. 
He thought then that he was wounded in the leg, and 
he began to feel faint and started for the rear. Soon 
thirst, that terrible thirst that all wounded men sufler, 
took possession of him. He found a brook and 
plunged in and drank deeply. Then he crawled onto 
the bank and laid down. His shoulder was now 
paining him fearfully and he was too weak from loss 
of blood to move farther. The rebels came up and 
made him a prisoner. This was May 3, 1863. 

They marched him to their rear, how far he does 
not know; he remembers passing some others of his 
regiment who were captured. He walked until he 
fell from exhaustion. The next he knew it was 
night. He lay between two furrows of land and the 
rain was pouring down in torrents. This revived him. 

It has often been remarked that after a severe battle 
there has been a downpour of rain ; this is a blessing 
to the wounded, as it allays in a measure the raging 
fever that always follows severe wounds. 

Comrade Tilton was held a close prisoner for 
thirteen days. During this time no food had been 
furnished him. He saw a rebel with a loaf of bread 
and asked him what he would take for it. The rebel 
inquired if he had any money. Tilton took out his 
pocket-book and said, ''Here is $36 in greenbacks. If 
that will do 3'ou any good you can have it for the 
bread." The rebel replied that they were not allowed 
to have Yankee money, at the same time reaching for 
the wallet. Tilton took hold of the bread and then 
the exchange was made. In a very short time the 
bread was devoured. During these thirteen days his 
wound was not dressed and got full of maggots. 

The doctors wdien they dressed his wound passed 
a silk handkerchief through it and tied the ends 
together over his shoulder; this they would move 
every day, and the pain that it caused was almost 
unbearable. 

When he was paroled he was put .in an ambulance 



BENJAMIN MANSON TILTON. 1 53 

and taken to Potomac Creek hospital. He remem- 
bers but little of his trip. When he came to himself 
he was in a large tent with hundreds of other 
wounded men, and as he opened his eyes the first man 
he saw was R. T. Leavitt of his company, who was 
wounded and had been a prisoner like himself. A 
few days later Charles B. Leavitt arrived from Pitts- 
field to take his brother home. He declared that Til- 
ton was his wife's brother. By this subterfuge he 
obtained a furlough for him for tliirty days, which was 
subsequently extended thirty more. When they 
arrived in Concord they were dirty and lousy to the 
last degree. They were met at the depot by Nathan- 
iel Shaw, formerly of this town, who married 
Leavitt's sister, and were taken in a nice hack to his 
house. The boys begged to be allowed to sleep in the 
stable, saying that they were too dirty to get into a 
bed ; but their kind friends would not listen to anything 
of the kind, but put them in the best bed and room in 
the house, which had been prepared especially for 
their comfort. After remaining here for a short time 
they came to Pittsfield. Tilton was under the care 
of Dr. Wheeler. 

At the end of his furlough his time was extended 
for thirty days more, when he reported at New York 
city. As he was a paroled prisoner he was sent to 
the parole camp at Indianapolis, Ind. This place he 
did not like, and the next morning he took the train 
for Washington. He had no ticket or pass and but 
little money. When the conductor would put him 
oft'tiie train he would walk to the rear of tlie train 
and get on again, but if the railroad men prevented 
this he would tramp to the next station and board the 
first train that came along. At last he reached the cap- 
ital without a cent in his pocket and not knowing 
where his regiment was. As he was passing along 
the street he saw a soldier with the silver letters of his 
regiment, ''12 N. H. V.", on his cap. Tilton says, 
"•I never was so tickled to see any one in my life as 
to see this man, although I did not know him, yet he 
7* 



154 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

belonged to my regiiiient and I felt as though I had 
got almost home. I went up to him and asked him 
where the regiment was, and he told me at Point 
Lookout. I asked him how to get there, and he told 
me at a certain wharf a steamboat was lying, ready 
to sail in about an hour. He asked me if I had a 
pass. I told him I hadn't. He said, "You can't go 
down then." I told him I should try. I went on 
board the boat, and after we had got some ways down 
the river the captain came to me for my ticket. I 
told him I had neither pass, ticket, or money. 
"Then," said he, "I shall have to put you ashore." 
"All right," I said, "only put me on the Maryland 
shore and I'll hoof it the rest of the way and get there 
then as soon as your darned old boat will." He gave 
me a look I shall never forget, and passed on. 

As soon as he reached his regiment he reported or 
duty. He had not been exchanged, and of course his 
officers had no right to put him in the ranks; but 
Tilton insisted, and he was allowed to have his own 
way. He was not entitled to rations, but his comrades 
were like all soldiers, ready to share with him. 

One time he was sent on picket duty at Bermuda 
Hundred. The rebels came down on them and cap- 
tured every man but Tilton. This was risky business 
for him, for if captured, by tlie laws of war he would 
have been shot for breaking his parole. He escaped 
in this way, when he saw his danger. He ran towards 
the enemy, while they paid their attention to those 
who were trying to get away. When Tilton had got 
well in their rear he found a creek. By this time it 
was dark and raining hard. He followed the creek 
along: until he came to our lines. 

He reached his regiment the next morning, to find 
an order awaiting him detailing him to act as quar- 
termaster-sergeant at Norfolk, Va. Here he remained 
under Captain Laws of the Eleventh New Hampshire 
volunteers for several months, when he asked to be 
relieved so that he might rejoin his regiment. At 
one time volunteers were called for to fill up Berdan's 



BENJAMIN M ANSON TTLTON. 155 

sharpshooters. Tiltoii was one of those who offered 
his services, and was accepted. He remained with 
this organization one month. He was engaged in 
thirteen battles and nineteen skirmisiies, most of these 
while on parole, as he never was exchanged. 

At the Battle of Cold Harbor his company went in 
with forty-two men, of whom five were killed, twenty- 
two wounded, and only ten remained for duty, with 
Tilton in command, he being at that time acting as 
orderly sergeant. In this battle a bullet grazed his 
right cheek, another cut the bottom from the left side 
of his cap, another cut the straps of his canteen and 
haversack, while his blanket, which was rolled and 
hung across his shoulder, was perforated with a num- 
ber of holes by the bullets of the enemy. 

At the Battle of Drury's Bluff, Capt. John H. Pres- 
cott came upon him and George F. Meserve with 
the rest of Company F, and told them to get out of 
that as soon as possible, as the rebels were close upon 
them. Looking in the direction indicated they saw 
the enemy but a few rods away. They started to run 
and soon came to a deep, narrow ravine, across which 
lay a log. Meserve called out, " I can't cross that 
log." Tilton took to the log, while Meserve jumped 
into the ravine. Tilton escaped, while poor Meserve 
was captured. 

After his return from Drury's Bluff his company 
were supporting a battery, when a splinter from one 
of our shrapnel that was being fired at the enemy 
struck him on the hand, making a slight wound. 

At Petersburg, George H. Sanborn came out to 
bring him food while he was on duty. Sanborn said, 
" Let me take your gun for one pop at those fellows." 
''AH right," replied Tilton, "I will load for you." 
It was while sitting on a box by Tilton's side that 
Sanborn received his terrible wound. 

I have already spoken of the very large familv of 
which Mr. Tilton was a member. After his enlist- 
ment, and before he left the state, they held a reunion 
at the old homestead. His father had been breaking 



156 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

up a piece of field the day before. The plow was 
still standing in the furrow, and the young folks, for 
a lark, took hold of the chain, pulled the plow across 
the field and back, while the father held the plow and 
turned a good furrow. 

DANIEL P. TILTON 

was a twin brother of B. M. Tilton. On the deatli of 
his mother, as already related, he went to live with 
his uncle, David Tilton, with whom he made his 
home until the summer of 1S61, when he enlisted in 
Company G, Seventh New Hampshire volunteers. 
He served with this regiment until the Battle of 
Olustee, Fla., February 20, 1864, when he was cap- 
tured and taken to Andersonville prison, where he died 
from starvation, July 26, 1864. His grave is num- 
bered 4,072. His captain, in speaking of him, says 
that he was a good soldier. 

All history, both sacred and profane, is filled with 
deeds of heroic men, — men who, by their valor, have 
made nations out of tribes and clans, who have 
given us civilization in place of barbarism, and peace 
instead of perpetual war. We all admire true cour- 
age, both moral and physical. If those who die on 
the field of battle amid the rush and turmoil of strife 
are hei'oes^ v^hat can we call those who calmly face 
death from starvation in a prison pen? Shut out from 
all communication with the outside world ; waiting, 
hoping, longing, for relief that never comes; dying 
slowly from hunger, their scanty food the refuse that 
swine would not eat, their drink the water from a 
muddy ditch polluted by the sinks of their guards; 
tortured by disease, with no loving hand to soothe 
their brow or relieve their pain, and none to applaud 
their heroic acts. Even the elements conspire against 
them. The hot sun of summer pours its fervid rays 
upon their ragged, unprotected bodies ; the winter's 
cold chills what little blood is left in their veins: but 




D. P. TiLTON. 

George Winkley. 

B. M. TiLTON. 



Hazen W. Willev. 

A. S. WiLLEY. 

W. W. W. Walker. 



WILLIAM W. W. WALKER. 1 57 

they will not yield to the blandishments of their cap- 
tors. Their guards hold out allurements to them. 
They should be fed and clothed and receive good pay, 
if they will only abandon their country, which seems 
to have abandoned them. These offers are rejected 
with scorn. Not one man from Pittsfield ever ac- 
cepted this bribe, but slowly and surely numbers of 
them sank into unknown graves. Can you point in 
history to a more sublime heroism than this? No 
wonder that the Grand Army of the Republic reserves 
each spring-time the choicest flowers in honor of 
these men. No wonder that they have a special ser- 
vice in memory of the unknown dead. No wonder 
that in eloquent words they pa}'^ tribute to the heroism 
of these their former comrades. 

As we think of their suflering, of their squalid 
misery, of the long, long days and of the still longer 
nights of waiting and hoping for the relief that never 
came, the tear must come unbidden to the eye and 
the sigh from the heart. 

See to it, young men, that these soldiers did not die 
in vain ! Keep our country undivided and our flag 
unsullied ! 

WILLIAM W. W. WALKER 

was born October i^, 1S3S, in Barnstead, a son of 
Andrew C. and Sarah T. (Willey) Walker. He 
came to Pittsfield when a very small boy, some five 
or six years of age. He was educated in our public 
schools and academy. He worked on his father's 
farm until about twenty years of age, when he opened 
a clothing store on Main street, where he remained 
about a year and then sold out and went West. 

He returned to Pittsfield in i860, and married Miss 
Lizzie Norris. They had one child, who died before 
the father returned from the war. On the breaking: 
out of the war he enlisted as a private, and was soon 
made a sergeant of Company G, Seventh New 
Hampshire volunteers, and then first sergeant. On 
January i, 1864, he was promoted to be first lieu- 



158 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

tenant of the same company, and a few weeks later 
for meritorious service was again promoted to be cap- 
tain of Company I. He was discharged December 
32, 1864, by reason of expiration of term of service. 

He was with his regiment at Manchester, N. H., 
New York city, and Fort Jefferson, on Dry Tortugas 
island, and Beaufort, S. C, and was encamped on 
the " Shell Road." This he describes as a most beau- 
tiful place. A large mansion standing back from the 
road with ample grounds, surrounded with live oak 
trees, from which the beautiful Spanish moss hung 
in ofraceful festoons. These residences were the homes 
of some of tlie prominent men of South Carolina. 
Seabrook island, on which Beaufort stands, is one of 
the noted Sea Islands, whose cotton for a century has 
been famous the world over. It is separated from the 
mainland by Broad river. On each side of this river 
v^ere picket posts, and the men on duty often ex- 
changed shots across the stream. He was then sent 
home on recruiting service, being at that time unfit 
for active duty by reason of malaria. On reaching 
New York he was seriously ill with this complaint, 
but soon after reaching New Hampshire he rallied, 
and was very active in enlisting men, securing several 
in Pittsfield for the Fifteenth regiment, but his regular 
station was at Ossipee. 

While on his way south, after this recruiting ser- 
vice, he was detailed by special order from the war 
department to take charge of the recruits at Fort 
Hamilton in New York harbor. This was during 
the draft riots in the city. He had charge of some 
2,000 or 3,000 men. Here he had a controversy with 
an officer of a little higher rank in the regular army, 
who thought a graduate of West Point was a little 
better than a volunteer from the Granite state. From 
this dispute W^alker came out with flying colors, and 
the military snob learned to mind his own business. 

Upon his return to his regiment he took part in 
the investment of Fort Wagner on Morris Island, and 
after the reduction of that stronghold his regi- 



WILLIAM W. W. WALKER. 159 

ment went to Florida, where they remained some 
time, taking part in the Battle of Olustee or Island 
Pond. The night before the battle was bitter cold. 
It was the 19th of February, 1864. He and a com- 
rade slept on a rubber blanket. In the morning it 
was found frozen to the ground, so when they were 
ordered to march they were obliged to leave it 
behind. This was at Barber's Station. 

The infantry of this little army took the railroad to 
march on, while the cavalry and artillery marched by 
the highway. After a long and weary march they 
found the enemy, under the command of General Col- 
quitt, posted across the railroad and road behind strono- 
fortifications shaped like a horseshoe. The Seventh 
regiment was in the van, and Company G was the 
front company. Walker looked around as soon as 
the battle had fairly begun, but could not see one of 
his men. Going back a short distance he found some 
of the officers trying to re-form tlie regiment on the 
colors. While doing so a man on each side of 
Walker was hit, — one of them severely wounded, the 
other killed. A battery of the Fifth United States 
artillery that went into the fight in the road beside 
the Seventh New Hampshire, had every horse killed 
at the first discharge. After a hard fought battle the 
army begiln to retreat. Some of the men were so 
exhausted that they fell out and were captured by the 
rebels, and when Company G reached their camp- 
ground for the. night they had marched that day forty 
miles and fought a hard battle. 

Afterwards the regiment went to Hilton Head, and 
remained a short time, and was then transported to 
Virginia, and in November, 1864, it was sent to New 
York city to quell the election riots, in which duty 
Walker performed conspicuous service. 

They soon returned to Virginia. During all his 
service in that state he snys it was almost one continued 
march. It was Bermuda Hundred, Yorktown, Peters- 
burg, around the James river, up the Appomattox, 
south of Manchester, and back again, — then over 



l6o PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

another route. One time they got so near Richmond 
that they could hear the church bells ring. 

At Fort Darling, the regiments were ordered to 
charge up the hill. As they did so the enemy opened 
upon them, but did not depress their guns enough, 
and as Walker looked back he could see the grape 
and canister pass over their heads. The rebels kept 
depressing their guns, but the Yankees ran so fast un- 
til they got to the abattis that little damage was done. 

One day thev started out from Deep Bottom. Col- 
onel Abbott called on Walker, and told him, as he 
expected a long march, he had better go to the com- 
missary and fill his canteen. The march was long, 
and towards night the rain came down in torrents. 
Still the army pushed on ; they entered a wood and 
marched as long as they could see, then dropped down 
where they were. Walker was sitting beside a tree, 
trying to protect himself from the pelting rain, when 
in the darkness he heard some one talking to the men 
and trying to find his way along the line. Soon he 
came to Walker, and told him that Colonel Abbott 
wanted to see him. It was so dark that Walker could 
not see anything, but starting out he at last found the 
colonel, who said that if Walker had any whiskey he 
wanted some. So many of the men were worn out 
he had used all he had, and more was wanted. Walker 
gave him what he had. As soon as morning broke 
they found where they were. In the darkness and 
rain thev had come within a very short distance of a 
rebel fortification — so strong that ten times the num- 
ber of men that they had could not have taken it. 

At one time while out reconnoitering, as they were 
working their way towards the enemy, a sharpshooter 
fired at Walker, striking a small tree just above his 
hand. This sharpshooter was concealed in a house 
with several of his comrades. A battery of the Fifth 
United States artillery was brought up, and that house 
was soon knocked in pieces. As the Seventh ad- 
vanced they ran into Longstreet's entire corps, and 
of course had to retreat. 



WILLIAM W. W. WALKER. lOI 

At one of the fig-lits near Petersburg, the ammuni- 
tion gave out and a lot of raih'oad iron was fired by 
our artillery. A prisoner whom Walker had cap- 
tured, said, "We uns could fight as long as you uns 
fight fair, but when you went to shooting blacksmith 
shops at us we uns had to run." 

At Deep Bottom, Colonel Abbott's horse was shot 
under him. Walker was acting adjutant. The regi- 
ment was armed with Spencer repeating rifles, an 
arm but a short time invented. It would fire eight 
times without reloading. The regiment had w^orked 
itself nearly through a piece of wood. Beyond the 
clearing in their front was another piece of woods. 
They could hear the enemy moving around over 
there, and word was passed along the line not to fire 
until the command was given, which would be when 
the rebels vv^ere about half way across the clearing. 
Every man in that small regiment clung to his rifle 
closer as he watched for the expected foe. 

Not a man moved. Not a w^ord was uttered. 
Ever3^thing was as quiet as though every soldier were 
asleep or dead. The minutes seemed hours. It is 
such a time as this that counts on the soldier's nervous 
system, the draft of wliich must be paid, with inter- 
est, at some time in the future. 

Soon the enemy burst from their cover, a whole 
brigade of Texas troops, shouting their peculiar yell. 
When they were about midway across the field, came 
the order to fire. What a murderous fire that was ! 
Not a man of those rebel soldiers returned, — every 
one was either killed or captured. 

Walker speaks in the highest terms of Colonel 
Abbott. When Walker's time had expired, and he 
was about to return home, the colonel sent for him 
and begged him to stay, saying that if he would, he 
would secure for him a commission in the regular 
army as soon as the war closed, which he thouglit 
would soon be. 

He still resides in Pittsfield. 



62 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 



JOSEPH J. C. WALCOTT. 

I have been able to learn but little of this soldier, 
who, previous to the war, worked in the cotton-fac- 
tory. When the war broke out, he with some com- 
panions started in the night and walked to Concord 
and enlisted in the First New Hampshire volunteers, 
but, for reasons already explained, his squad was put 
into the Second regiment as a part of Company E. 
(See sketches of Orren Brock, H. M. Gordon, and 
others.) 

He served as a sergeant, having been promoted to 
that position, until March i8, 1863, when he was dis- 
charged for disability. At the Battle of Williamsburg 
he was severely wounded in the groin. He declined 
all assistance, and using his gun as a crutch, hob- 
bled to the rear, had his wound dressed, and was sent 
to the hospital. This was May 2, 1862. 

From his comrades I learn that he was in the fol- 
lowing battles : First Bull Run, July 21, 1861 ; Siege 
of Yorktown, April 11 to May 3, 1862; Williams- 
burg, May 2, 1862; Fair Oaks, June 23, 1862; 
Savage Station, June 27, 1862 ; Peach Orchard, June 
28, 1862; Glendale, June 30, 1862; Malvern Hill, 
July I, 1862; Malvern Hill (2d battle), August 5, 
1862; Bristow Station, August 27, 1862; Second 
Bull Run, August 29, 1862; Chantilly, September i, 
1862; Fredericksburg, December 11 to 15, 1862. In 
all of these engagements he bore himself like a true 
son of the Granite state. 

After the war he went West, and all trace of him 
has been lost. 

HAZEN W. WILLEY. 

Among the early annals of the town of Barnstead, 
the names of Willey and Bunker often occur. Enoch 
Willey married Polly Bunker, and from them sprung 
a large family of children, at least four of their sons 



HAZEN W. WILLEY. 1 63 

enlisting in the army during the War of the Rebellion, 
three of them from this town. 

The subject of this sketch was born at Barnstead 
Parade on March i, 182S. When he was seven or 
eight years old his parents moved to Pittsfield, and for 
many years lived in a house that stood north t)f the 
town hall, nearly opposite the freight depot. Pre- 
vious to its discontinuance in 186S the road from the 
town hall to the house of A. H. Young was known 
as the Willey road. 

Hazen Willey was a shoemaker by occupation. 
September 38, 1S49, he married Miss Eliza Spurlin 
of this town, by whom he had two children. He 
enlisted in Company G, Seventh New Hampshire 
volunteers, on the 21st day of October, 1861. 

He participated in all of the hard campaigns in 
which his regiment was engaged until July 18, 1863, 
when, in the terrible Battle of Fort Wagner, during 
a charge upon that fortification, he and a few of his 
comrades gained the slope of the parapet and were 
climbing up its surface when he was wounded so 
badly tliat when our forces were repulsed he was 
left in the hands of the enemy. He was taken to 
Charleston, S. C, where he died. One authority 
says his death occurred on the 20th day of July, 
anotiier says it was the 21st, while still another puts 
the date as the 22d of the month. 

His captain, speaking of him, says that he was one 
of the best soldiers that ever shouldered a musket, — 
always readv for duty and faithful in its discharge, 
very quiet while in camp, yet in battle he had that 
cool courage that makes an ideal soldier. No matter 
how long the weary march might be, no matter how 
cold or wet the weather was, no matter how hot the 
sun poured his fierce rays upon the glaring sand, no 
matter how hungry or thirsty the soldier was, Hazen 
Willey never uttered a word of complaint but did his 
dutv in a cheerful manner. 



164 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 



ALFRED S. ^VILLEY 

was the oldest brother of the above. Alfred was born 
in Barnstead, and moved to Pittsfield with his parents 
about the year 1S35. He married Miss Susan Clark, 
and they had seven children, wHen she died. He 
afterwards married Mrs. Nancy (Young) Emerson. 
He was a shoemaker by trade and a very industrious 
man. In the fall of 1864 he enlisted in Compan}- C, 
Eighteenth New Hampshire volunteers. After serv- 
ing until nearly the close of the war he was (aken sick, 
was discharged for disability, came home, and was a 
great sufferer for many years before he died, October 
16, 1880, in Pittsfield. 

IRA WILLEY 

was but a lad when the war broke out, being the 
youngest of the family that sent four sons into the 
army. As a boy he was noted for tiie tender care he 
bestowed upon his crippled mother. He was mus- 
tered into Troop D, First New Hampshire cavalry, 
June 25, 1864, and served with credit until the close 
of the war. He was a brother of the above Hazen 
and Alfred Willey. His brother George enlisted in 
Company F, Eighth New Hampshire volunteers, 
from the town of Candia. Ira died at Fremont, 
N. H., a few years ago, — date unknown. 

Willey was a man of medium size, but strong and 
active as a panther, with curly, black hair and mous- 
tache, wearing his cap jauntily on one side, — a dash- 
ing-looking fellow. Near Leesburg he was captured 
by a couple of rebel cavalrv, he being on foot. Each 
one taking him by the hand they hurried him oft' into 
Dixie. For some two miles they made him run, the 
sweat pouring from his face, but at last they came to a 
walk and Willey begged for a drink : their canteens 
were empty, but at the foot of the hill which they were 
descending they knew of a spring to which one of 



EZRA C. WILLARD. 1 65 

them went to filltheir canteens leaving the other on 
guard while Willey held the horse. The man on 
guard had his carbine in his hand. Soon he leaned 
forward and peered into the woods down the path his 
companion had taken. Qiiick as a flash Willey 
snatched his carbine away from him with one hand 
and with the other grabbed his foot and gave him 
such a boost as to send him sprawling in the dirt on 
the other side of his horse. Then springing upon 
the horse he had held, he dashed up the hill, fol- 
lowed by the other horse. In less than two hours 
from his capture he was again in camp. 

C. B. WALLACE 

came to this town a stranger, worked in the cotton 
factory, and married, about 1856, Mrs. Peace Crosby, 
a sister to Ezra C. Willard. He enlisted in Company 
E, Seventh New Hampshire volunteers, and was mus- 
tered into service November 7, 1S61. Promoted to 
be sergeant November 28, 1863, he reenlisted February 
2, 1864, and served until the close of the war. Mr. 
Wallace was in every way a good soldier. His wife 
died while he was in the service, and he never returned 
to this town to live ; his whereabouts are unknown. 



EZRA C. WILLARD 

was born near Howath's mill in Loudon, January 9, 
1827, and was the youngest of the nine children of 
Nathaniel and Susan Willard. His father died when 
he was six years of age, and the widow had a hard 
struggle to maintain her family, as there was but little 
property. After he came to man's estate Ezra took 
good care of his parent, until her death in 1852. 

In October, 1842, he experienced religion and was 
baptized at Loudon Ridge by the Reverend Peter 
Clark, and since that time has been a consistent mem- 
ber of the Free Will Baptist church. 



r66 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

On his eighteenth birthday he moved to Pittsfield, 
and has since that lime made this town liis home, ex- 
cepting a few years he spent in Boston, Newmarket, 
and Manchester. 

When he first came to town it was with the inten- 
tion of learning the bhicksmith's trade, and for that 
purpose he entered the shop of the late Jonathan 
Langmaid, where he remained a year. He was then 
offered a desirable situation in tiie Pittsfield mills, 
where he remained fifteen years, except a short time 
he spent at Tilton seminary. September 2, 1852, he 
was married to Miss Sarah Garland of Nottingham. 
They have had one child, who died while an infant. 

He enlisted vSeptember 12, 1S62, in Company G, 
Fifteenth New Hampshire volunteers, as a private, and 
was, soon after going into camp at Concord, promoted 
to be corporal. On November 13 he left New 
Hampshire with his regiment for Long Island, N. Y., 
where he remained until December 5, when the regi- 
ment marched to Brooklyn and his company with 
five others went on board the Prometheus and 
sailed for New Orleans. The regiment first camped 
at Carrollton and afterwards at Camp Parapet. 

Comrade Willard kept a diary, and it would be in- 
teresting to publish it entire did space permit, but I 
will give a few extracts from it : 

February 17, 1863. I go on picket about noon. It com- 
menced to rain in showers, harder and harder it pours. 
At 3 o'clock we were called out to go to our posts. The 
ditches are filled with water, the roads are overflowed, the 
rain still falling in torrents. We start for our posts, one and 
a half miles distant. We march but a short distance when 
one of us steps into a hole and away he goes into mud and 
water. Before we got to our destination we were as wet as 
we could be. We had no shelter but slept on the ground. 
After a long, dark, dreary night, morning came at last. This 
is one of the times that tries men's souls, health, constitu- 
tion, and temper. 

February 18. I go on picket about noon, I return to 
camp with a rebel prisoner. (This was the first prisoner 
captured by the regiment.) 



EZRA C. WILLARD. 1 67 

Sunday, March 22. Went to a negro meeting; arrived 
just in time to witness a marriage ceremony. It was quite a 
curiosity to me. It was performed something h'ke the Epis- 
copal form of ceremony ; a ring is put upon the finger of the 
bride by the bridegroom. Everything was done in a very 
orderly manner and their dress was very appropriate. After 
an hour's intermission a funeral sermon is to be preached. 
I waited for the service. First they sang a hymn, then read 
from the Bible, then a prayer, then another hymn, then the 
discourse, which was plain and reasonable. The pulpit was 
trimmed in a very appropriate and tasty style and in no way 
inferior to that of a northern community. Then the meet- 
ing-house was worth going to see. It was, I should say, 
forty by twenty-four feet. There is not a board or shingle 
on or in it. It is covered with split staves and the seats are 
the same, so if you think the negro has no ingenuity or 
capacity to learn, just look at that church ; and best of all, 
hear the prayers and exhortations. 

April 14. We went to-day to get cane poles to shade our 
tents. (Canebrake poles such as are used for fishrods.) 

April 15. A rebel shot to-day, while trying to steal past 
our guards. 

April 27. Had a dreadful time with the mosquitoes last 
night. (These were a terrible pest, and each man was furnished 
with a mosquito bar. When on the march he might throw 
away everything else, but not this very necessary protector.) 

On Wednesday, May 20, the regiment started for 
Port Hudson. 

May 22. We started again up the river at 8:30 o'clock. 
Landed about 18 miles up the river at 1 1 o'clock. At 2 p. m. 
started on a march of 15 miles. It is very hot. About 4 
o'clock had a shower, and the worst of it was they hurried us 
extremely. At last we stopped and laid down about ex- 
hausted and didn't know anything until next morning. It 
rained in the night. 

Saturday, May 23. Started again at i p. m., marched 4 
miles, when we camped in the woods. During the night a 
heavy shower came over, and as we had no tents we got very 
wet. 

Sunday, May 24. Oh, I am sick this morning. I hope 
I shall have strength according to my task. Started at 5 
p. m., marched one mile to the rebel pits, and camped. 



.l68 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

Tuesday, May 29. Go about one half mile to support 
battery. 

Wednesday, May 27. Commenced battle at Port Hudson 
about noon. Several hundred killed and wounded. 

Thursday, May 28. Quiet to-day, — finding and burying 
our dead. 

May 29. Not much doing to-day, only strengthening 
our fortification. 

May 31. Received our knapsacks. 

June I . Still here, near the battle ground. 

June '2. One man killed in Company A, that lay next to 
us last night, and one wounded by a bursting shell. (A 
piece of this shell went through a handkerchief that was 
spread over my head to keep the dew off.) 

Here follow a few days in which Comrade Wil- 
lard was too sick to write. 

Tuesday, June 9. Laboring yet on fortifications. I drank 
some whiskey for the first time in my life. 

Saturday, June 13. We are yet in the woods. One hun- 
dred and fifty sharpshooters attempted to gain (rebel works) 
but failed. 

Sunday, June 14. Dreadful battle. We were ordered out 
at 3 O'clock this morning to make another charge, but failed. 
Laid in the scorching sun all day. Many wounded and 
killed. 

Tuesday, June 16. Promoted to be fourth sergeant. 

To be promoted on the field was an extraordinary 
honor, and when we consider that he passed over 
eight who outranked him it shows the estimation in 
which he was held by his superior officers. For the 
next few days he was at work in trenches. 

Sunday, June 2 1 . Pickets (skirmish line) advanced last 
night. Several wounded. 

Several days more working in trench. This trench, 
I will say, was an approach to the mine that was 
placed under the citadel to blow it up. Most of the 
labor was performed by the Fifteenth New Hamp- 
shire. 



EZRA C. WILLARD. 1 69 

Tuesday, June 23. -Battery opened fire upon the rebels 
at 3 p. m. We lay in the rifle-pits through the night. 

For several days more he only mentions working 
in trenches. 

Tuesday, June 30. Mustered to-day for pay in rifle-pits 
at Port Hudson. 

July I . Called out last night to make a charge, but did not. 

July 2. Confined in camp with a sore foot (scurvy). 

Wednesday, July 8. Port Hudson surrendered. 

Thursday, July 9. We marched into Port Hudson this 
morning. 

Saturday, July i8. We got our tents to-day. 

After the regiment left Camp Parapet, on May 20, 
they had no shelter until July 18, yet in this respect 
the Fifteenth fared as well as any other regiment, and 
better than many, for some of them had not had a 
piece of canvas since March and did not get any until 
still later, sleeping in swamps, in rain or heavy dews, 
and enduring the scorching sun by day ; — yet some 
people think it was a picnic ! 

At the surrender, the Eighth New Hampshire was 
given the post of honor and allowed to enter the works 
first. The Fifteenth soon followed, and Company G 
was selected to do guard duty at the landing, that be- 
ing the most responsible position in which any com- 
pany coidd be placed. 

Saturday, August 26. Started for home on "The City of 
Madison," at 10 o'clock a. m. 

We will not follow his diary further, however inter- 
esting it may be, but will say that he arrived home 
with his regiment though in a very sick condition. A 
local writer says : 

From the time Mr. Willard was attacked with the several 
diseases his appearance changed. Then his look was any- 
thing but natural. His flesh was much wasted away. His 
lower limbs were badly swollen with large scurvy sores re- 
sembling carbuncles, and it was thought he would never live 



170 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

to get home. His wisest course would be to go to the hos- 
pital, but he decided otherwise. So with feet and legs ban- 
daged and cane in hand, he managed to get on board the 
boat. 

Mr. Willard was attacked with bilious colic just before 
starting for home, and got along quite comfortably on board 
the boat, but when changed at Cairo for cattle cars, the suf- 
fering was the greatest he ever endured. For seven years 
after his return he was able to do but little work, and never 
any of a laborious nature. 

A comrade relates the following : 

It was Saturday evening, the 6th of June, I think, when 
an officer came to our company and wanted three men for a 
hazardous enterprise. Ezra Willard, John Chesley and Wil- 
liam Chesley, two brothers from Barnstead, volunteered. 
When they, reached the place of rendezvous there were some 
hundred or more men, and the officer said, " Now, if there is 
a man among you that is afraid to die to-day, let him step 
out and he can return to his regiment honorably ; " but not a 
man from the Fifteenth moved. 

They were then instructed what they were to do. They 
were to deploy as skirmishers and advance as near to the rebel 
works as possible. Then to get into any cover they could, 
and at a given signal they were to begin firing ; the object 
was to attract the attention of the enemy while a charge was 
to be made on another part of the line. They marched 
silently forward until within a very short distance of the for- 
tification, when they lay flat upon the ground, and working for- 
ward they came to what is known to tarmers as a "dead furrow."" 
The weeds in this were about a foot or a foot and a half 
high. Our boys lay down in this. Soon it was daylight, 
and they waited for the expected signal that never came. 
The commanding general had changed his mind. What 
little food they had with them was soon eaten. By ten 
o'clock their canteens were empty, the sun shone with tropi- 
cal heat, but these men dare not move, for if they did so it 
would disclose their whereabouts to the enemy. They could 
not communicate with each other for the same reason. 

About noon one man started to run. He had not taken a 
dozen paces before he was pierced by twenty rifle balls, and 
as his body lay on the field the rebels would shoot at it, dur- 



EZRA C. WILLARD. 171 

ing the rest of the day. About two o'clock a black snake 
made its way towards the men. Now Ezra, in common 
with all mankind, had a horror of these reptiles ; but his 
snakeship cared nothing for this, but made straight for our 
friend and crawled across his body, and he, poor fellow, 
dared not stir. Comrade Willard said that perhaps the 
snake was not larger than many others, but it seemed to him 
that it was the biggest snake that ever lived. 

The sun sinks slowly, so slowly to these men ; at last the 
day encls and darkness at once comes on, and then they can 
crawl out of their hiding-place and make their way back to 
their lines. They cannot speak, but seizing the first canteens 
they drain them, then they hunt for their regiment. It has 
been moving all night. Tiiey wander around and just at 
morning they find their comrades. 

No wonder that Willard's diary for the next few 
days shotdd be broken. 

The negroes flocked to our lines by thousands. 
Thev were placed in colonies, that is, they were 
marched into the open field and bivouacked. In 
other words, they could sleep on the ground as the 
soldiers did, but they would soon gather some barrels 
or boxes and make a shelter. Colony number 8 was 
near the writer's stable, where he was quartered for 
a short time. One of my hostlers was sick. I went 
to see him and measured his house; it was eight feet 
long, four feet wide, and four feet high in front. Here 
my man WiHiam lived, with his wife and two chil- 
dren. It was as good as any house in the colony of 
1.500 inhabitants. There was not a building in it but 
that a man could look over the top while standing on 
the ground. In other words, two men standing 
upright in any part of the village could see each 
other. On the other side of my stable was the church 
spoken of by Comrade Willard. The size was 30 by 
50 feet. There was no floor. Posts were set in the 
ground and poles spiked to them. In this way the 
frame was made. Then the shakes^ or split staves 
as Comrade Willard calls them, were nailed to these, 



172 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

and a tower was built over the front entrance. 
Crotched stakes were driven into the ground inside 
the church, in which poles were laid, and on these 
were placed shakes for seats. There was not a board 
in the whole building, except the top of the pulpit. 
These shakes were made out of a species of cedar that 
grew in Louisiana. It had so good " rift " that a 
log twenty feet long could be split with an ax and 
then the whole reduced to shakes one inch thick and 
the width of the diameter of the log. The men and 
women in these colonies were employed, most of 
them, in cutting wood on government land, and when 
they came to a tree of this kind they would split it up 
and ''tote" (carry) it two miles to the spot to build 
their church, although they needed this material to 
build them shelters. 

One day, while removing sugar from an abandoned 
plantation, I took the bell that had been used to call 
tlie slaves from their work and carried it down to this 
church. The negroes cut a tree, leaving two prongs 
on it, and set it up before their edifice, and in the fork 
they hung this bell. 

JOHN B. WILLARD 

was a member of Company F, Twelfth New Hamp- 
shire volunteers. He was born in Loudon, October 
19, 1835, son of John and Ann (Batchelder) Willard. 
In 1854 he came to Fittsfield and worked at shoe- 
making with S. D. Davis. In 1S60 he married Mrs. 
Susan Clough. In 1863 he enlisted, and was mustered 
into service September 5, 1S62. 

He took an active part in the Battle of Fredericks- 
burofand at Chancellorsville, after v^'hich he was taken 
sick, but recovered sufficiently to be engaged in the 
Battle of Cold Harbor. Here he was sun-struck, so 
that he was unable to do much duty afterwards, but 
was not discharged until his regiment was mustered 
out of service. He died in Pittsfield, of disease con- 
tracted in the service. May 5, 1S81. 






J. N. Young. 

E. C. WiLLARD. 

E. M. Young. 



F. W. Young. 

J. B. WiLLARD. 

A. F. Young. 



NATHANIEL WILLIAMS. I 73 



GEORGE WINKLEY 



was a native of Barnstead, N. H., a son of Dennison 
and Mary A. Winkley. He was a wheelwright by 
trade and was considered a superior workman. He 
came to Pittsfield about 1S56, and built a house on 
Crescent street, now owned by Asa O. Carr. He 
married Mary A. Jones, a daughter of the late Leon- 
ard Jones, by whom he had two children. In 1S62 he 
enlisted in Company F, Twelfth New Hampshire 
volunteers, and died at Falmouth, Va., May 24, 1863. 

Winkley, while in the service, had an abnormal 
appetite, eating enough for two men. He was sick, 
but the surgeons could not tell what the matter was ; 
and at last they refused to excuse him from duty. His 
comrades grumbled because, as they thouglit, he was 
"shirking." He was detailed to go on picket, but he 
complained that he was not able to go. Still his 
comrades laughed at him, and his captain would not 
excuse him ; so he started for his post, some three miles 
away. He had gone but about half a mile when he 
said to the officer in charge, "I can go no farther; 
you may do what you please with me, but I am too 
sick to go another rod." 

They left him there, and when they returned they 
found that he had died, and had been found and 
buried by soldiers of another regiment. To have 
some obscure disease in the army was far worse than 
to be violently sick, for the other soldiers would chaft' 
one most unmercifully. 

NATHANIEL WILLIAMS 

lived in that part of the town known as "Upper 
City." He was a tin peddler, and, like all of his occu- 
pation, was widely known and well liked. I have 
been able to learn but few facts concerning him. He 
married Miss Ann Barton and had several children 
when he enlisted in Company F, Twelfth New 



174 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

Hampshire volunteers, August ii, 1863. He served 
with that regiment until he was mustered out, July 10, 
1865. He was captured at Fredericksburg, but how 
long he was held a prisoner I am unable to say. He 
is now living in Manchester, N. H. 

WILLIAM H. H. WATSON 

was born, September 29, 1843, in that part of Pitts- 
field known as Jenness pond district. He was a son 
of John and Betsey Watson. He attended school at 
the Jenness pond and Berry school-houses in winter, 
and in summer worked on his father's farm. His 
father died while voung Watson was but a lad, and, 
as he was the oldest of thefamilv, much of the care of 
the farm fell to his lot. In 1862 he was married to 
Mrs. Lydia Eaton. In January, 1864, he enlisted in 
the Fourteenth New Hampshire volunteers (infantry) 
and joined his regiment, which at that time formed a 
part of the Nineteenth army corps. While stationed 
at New Orleans he was taken sick with fever, and died 
May 30, 1864. 

CHARLES W. WATSON, 

a well known comic singer before the war, was born 
in Pittsfield, March 3, 1836. His father was Timothy 
Watson, who built many houses in the village, and 
for whom Watson street is named. 

Charles enlisted in Company F, Twelfth New 
Hampshire volunteers, September 5, 1862. He 
cared more for dancing and singing than for military 
duties. On the march to Gettysburg he fell out, and 
wandered from hospital to hospital playing his guitar, 
and did not rejoin his regiment for some time. He 
was transferred to the Second New Hampshire volun- 
teers March 3, 1865, to serve out the time thus lost. 
He died in Pittsfield, August 9, 1884. 

When brought before a court-martial he was asked 
why he fell out of the ranks on the march to Gettys- 



CHARLES H. WESTON. 1 75 

burg. He promptly'replied that he did so to guard 
the rear of the army from surprise. The next ques- 
tion was, " You are charged with leaving the ranks at 
Chancellorsville ; wliat have you to say to that.^" He 
rephed, " Some of the boys were wounded and 
I went back to look after them ; surely you would 
not condemn a man for taking care of wounded men." 
The very audacity of his replies undoubtedly saved 
him from a worse punishment. 

He wanted to get a discharge, so he stole a lot of 
dried apples and after eating them went to the sur- 
geon's tent, said he was sick, told his symptoms, and 
said he thought he had dropsy and wanted his dis- 
charge, but this the "major" failed to get. 

After Watson failed to get a discharge for dropsy, 
he complained of having rheumatism in his shoulder. 
Of course his comrades were disgusted with him, and 
one of them got a bottle of Spalding's glue, an arti- 
cle highly advertised at that time, and, telling him it 
was a liniment that was a sure cure for his complaint, 
bathed his back and shoulder with the liquid, which 
caused his shirt to stick to his skin, and it was weeks 
before he could get the garment removed, and then 
only in small pieces, for it stuck closer tiian a brother. 
But it cured the rheumatic trouble in his case, at least 
he never complained of it again. 

CHARLES H. WESTON 

was a native of Pennsylvania, where he was born 
July 17, 1 841. His mother died when he was but 
three years of age, and his father removed to Massa- 
chusetts. In January, 1859, Charles came to Pitts- 
field to work in the cotton mill, and in the following 
May he married Miss Ellen Jipson, by whom he had 
three children. 

In 1861, while he was stopping in Massachusetts for 
a short time, the war broke out and he enlisted in 
Company G, Thirteenth Massachusetts volunteers. 
He served with his regiment until, at the Battle of 



176 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

Antietam, Wednesday, September 17, 1862, he 
was wounded, a ball passing through his arm and 
entering his right side, dropping down inside the ribs. 
He was immediately taken to the hospital, where he 
remained until his discharge, December 13, 1S62, 
when he returned to Pittsfield. 

He remained at home until the fall of 1S64, when, 
his wound having partially healed, he could not resist 
the call of his country. He enlisted in Company A, 
Eighteenth New Hampshire volunteers, and was pro- 
moted to be second sergeant, September 13, 1S64. 
He served with this regiment until the close of the 
war. 

He returned home and lived in town until he died 
from the effect of his wound, June 12, 1S90. 

FRANK W. YOUNG, 

a son of Henry and Louisa O. (Morrill) Young, was 
born in Pittsfield, March 11, 1S41. He remained 
with his father until he enlisted, except two years 
that he worked in Strafford. He enlisted first in 
Company G, Eighth New Hampshire volunteers, but 
being under age his father refused his consent, and he 
returned home, but in 1862 he again enlisted in Com- 
pany G, Fifteenth New Hampshire volunteers. 

At the siege of Port Hudson he was employed in 
the trench and mine that was intended to blow up the 
citadel of the fortification. He was taken sick with 
rheumatism and chronic diarrhoea, but it did not pre- 
vent his taking part in the battles of May 27 and 
June 14, 1863. Although sick he would always go 
on the picket or skirmish line whenever his turn 
came, and would scold if the sergeant in charge 
attempted to skip him in making out the detail. He 
was a good soldier, a shoemaker by occupation, and 
still resides in Pittsfield. 



John n, young. 177 



ENOCH M. YOUNG 



was a brother of the above and was better known as 
" Mack." He was born in Pittsfield, October 27, 1842, 
and always remained with liis parents until he enlisted 
in Company G, Fifteenth New Hampshire volun- 
teers, October 11, 1S62. He was with his regiment 
continually until the spring of 1863, when his com- 
pany was ordered to Port Hudson. "Mack" was 
sick, but against the advice of his comrades he 
declined to be left behind. On the way up the river 
some of the men claimed to be sick and were put off 
from the boat, preferring their safe quarters behind the 
parapet to facing the enemy. In derision the soldiers 
pelted them with " hard tack." Again " Mack " 
was urged to remain, this time by the surgeon, but the 
noble boy said, " No, I will go to Port Hudson if it is 
the last thing I do." The reginiv-^nt debarked at 
Springfield Landing and on the 26th day of May 
came in sight of the fortifications of Port Hudson. 
"Mack" fell, while in the ranks, from sheer exhaus- 
tion, and was taken back to the landing and sent to 
New Orleans, where he died, June 2, 1863, aged 20 
years and 7 months. Thus passed away one of our 
most beloved young men, — one who had not an 
enemy in the world and no friend by him when he 
died. 

JOHN N. YOUNG 

was another brother of the two preceding soldiers. 
He was, like them, a native of Pittsfield, where he was 
born August 24, 1S44, ^^^ '^^t^'' them enlisted in 
Company G, Fifteenth New Hampshire volunteers, 
and was detailed as attendant to Captain Osgood. 
He performed his duties faithfully, whether in camp, 
on the march, or on the field of battle. He took part 
in the Siege of Port Hudson, and in several engage- 
ments in which his regiment participated. His genial, 
happy disposition drove away the homesickness from 

8* 



178 PITTSFIELD IN THE REP.ELLION. 

many a soldier's mind and made his presence a bless- 
ing to all. 

His present residence is Newark, N. J. 



ALVIN F. YOUNG. 

One of the very few men who entered the service at 
the beginning of the war, remained until its close, and 
came hoine without a wound or having been sent to the 
hospital from sickness, was Alvin F. Young. He 
was in over forty engagements, eighteen of which 
were regular pitched battles, and was never hit. 

He was born in Barnstead, near Gilmanton town 
line, February 20, 1842, a son of Andrew J. and Sally 
(Seavy) Young, and moved to Pittsfield in 1849. ^'^ 
the breaking out of the war he ran away from home 
and enlisted in Company E, Second New Hampshire 
volunteers; was mustered into service June 3, 1861, 
and reenlisted January i, 1864; was re-mustered 
February 2, 1864, and was in every engagement but 
one in which his regiment was engaged. 

When our forces were driven back at Chancellors- 
ville, while engaged in clearing a road through some 
fallen timber he wrenched his back, which laid him 
up for a few days. This was the only time that he 
was ever excused from duty. 

Before the Battle of Williamsburg, Comrade Young 
had been troubled with rheumatism. When he 
learned that there was to be a fight, he begged per- 
mission to join his company. While lying in an old 
ditch (said by the natives to be a rifle-pit dug during 
the Revolution), not fdv from Fort Magruder, Young 
said to the man at his side, '-See me pick that man 
oft' from his horse," indicating a rebel who had just 
appeared at one corner of the fort. Young raised his 
rifle and fired. The man gave a convulsive grasp at 
the mane of his horse and fell from the saddle, while 
the animal ran riderless away. 

All day long the rain poured down, but despite his 
rheumatism he continued in the battle with his com- 



• ALVIN F. YOUNG. 179 

rades. He was considered a crack shot, and several 
times during his service he was detailed to act as a 
sharpshooter, and in this capacity he served with the 
members of Company B. His father had been a cap- 
tain in the old New Hampshire militia, and was 
known far and wide as Captain " Andry.' 

When Alvin enlisted some of his friends advised 
his father, as he was under age, to take him out of the 
army. "I won't do it," replied the old man, "what 
good would it do? He would go again, and I don't 
blame him. If I was young enough I'd go myself." 

Alvin Young was drowned in Straflbrd, N. H., 
December 9, 1875. 

There were a very few others who enlisted, but after 
taking the oath to defend their countr}^ from all ene- 
mies they basely deserted their flag and forever were 
held in detestation by all men ; only one of them ever 
dared to return to Pittsfield to live. For the sake of 
their families let their names sink into oblivion, but 
for those brave men who died in the service, no words 
of mine can exalt them in the memory of their towns- 
men. 

Illustrious dead ! Had I Apollo''s lyre 

I 'd breathe an offering worthy of their name, 

Applauding heroes should their feats admire, 

And countless thousands should their deeds proclaim ; 

I W paint their valor in auroral beams, 

I 'd sing their toils in symphonies untold, 

1 M search the empires for their sweetest dreams. 
And 'grave its charms on leaves of burnished gold ; 

I 'd shield their names from " the shock of time," 
And bear their memories to a race unborn ; 

The sage should praise in eulogy sublime 

The sterling virtues which their lives adorned ; 

I 'd rob the seasons of their brightest gems, 
I VI snatch the rainbow from the vaulted sky, 

And with sunbeams wreathe them diadems, — 
To crown their brows with immortality. 



SOLDIERS' AID SOCIETY AND NURSES. 



What were the ladies of Pittsfield doing these four 
long, trying years? To be sure they had their families 
to care for while the men were away, and they had 
work to do to gather supplies for the soldiers. I am 
told that they had no real organization, but they met 
by scores in the old academy hall, made shirts and 
drawers, and scraped lint and made bandages in large 
amounts. 

I have been shown a letter written July 26, 1861, 
to Mrs. R. L. French, by Mrs. Mary S.' Perley, of 
Concord, who was president of the New Hampshire 
Soldiers' Aid society, thanking the ladies of Pittsfield 
for their very liberal donation. 

Again, November 23, she writes to the same lady, 
saying,— 

I acknowledge with pleasure the receipt of another box 
from Pittsfield, and beg to return to the donors our most 
cordial thanks. Pittsfield has already done so much that 
perhaps it is spurring the willing horse to death to ask for 
more. But we are in need of assistance, and naturally turn 
to .those who have helped us most, to help us more. 

Then came the request for what was needed, and 
of course it was granted. For the women of as 
small a town as Pittsfield was in 1S61, to make three 
hundred shirts in three weeks was quite a task, but it 
was done. 

Mrs. Miranda Swain, whose home was on Concord 
hill, took a more prominent part in the war than any 
lady from Pittsfield. For nearly three years she was 
employed in the hospitals at Washington. Many 






Mrs. Frank Nutter. 
Mrs. W. C. Osgood. 
Mrs. Joseph Harvey. 





Mrs. R. L. French. 
Mrs. J. L. Thorndike. 
M Rs. Llwis El^KlR. 



SOLDIERS AID SOCIETY AND NURSES. 151 

soldiers remember her with gratitude, and I cannot 
refrain from giving an extract from one of her graphic 
letters to Mrs. R. L. French : 

NEW HAMPSHIRE SOLDIERS' AID ROOMS., 
517 7TH Street, Washington, D. C, 
July 27, 1864. 
Dear Mrs. French: 

Having a few spare moments I will improve them by writ- 
ing to you. 

Since my return we have had much to do — first the Fred- 
ericksburg campaign commenced, and our association was 
very busy in its eiforts to do for the wounded men. We 
sent down a large amount of supplies. I hardly got time to 
eat or sleep for several days, I might say weeks. Then the 
wounded commenced coming in, and sorrowful sights they 
were, too. We never have had such terribly wounded men 
as during this campaign. 

It would astonish the good people of New Hampshire did 
they know the deaths from any one hospital for a day. 
Then to take them in the aggregate, it is perfectly awful. 
From Howard (hospital), for instance, they have averaged for 
weeks from thirty-six to forty per day. At first it was from 
seventy-five to one hundred, and that is only one hospital 
like many others down here. 

Now we are directing our efforts principally to the men 
in the trenches. They have been living for weeks in the 
trenches before Petersburg ; are getting worn out, are bil- 
ious, have diarrhoea, and are despondent. We find it much 
easier by expending a few dollars to keep them there than to 
get them returned again to duty, and then they lose their 
clothing or get it worn out and are unable to draw more. 
We send them underclothing and crackers, gingerbread, 
cider, ale, cheese, corn-starch, farina, dried fruits, lemons, 
boiled cider, vinegar, pickles, etc. 

Also we endeavor to take especial care of every man in 
the hospitals in and around Washington. There are four- 
teen large hospitals in the city, and as many more in Alexan- 
dria. We have especial visitors appointed to every one, and 
we know that almost without exception they are faithful. 
They visit them nearly every day, some not more than three 
times per week, as they have more or less severe cases. I go 



l82 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

here and there, as it happens that I am most wanted, but my 
business just now is to remain in the "rooms'' to attend to 
the supplies and the thousand little things that are constantly 
coming up to be attended to. 

Miss Dame is with the Eighteenth army corps as matron, 
working very hard. She is a faithful laborer for the soldiers. 
I suppose you have heard all the rumors and truths of the 
visit of the rebels to the suburbs of our city, and the getting 
in of a few, to their sorrow. It was truly quite an exciting 
time with us. We did not know how large a force they had 
— one thing we did know : we had very little force to op- 
pose them with for a few days. From Saturday until Mon- 
day night citizens, clerks, and invalid soldiers were put on 
guard. Many of the members of our association did regular 
guard duty — two hours on, two off, for some days. The 
music of cannon and bursting shell I never expected to hear, 
yet the reports were quite distinct above the noise of the 
city, and one night we sat upon the top of the house watch- 
ing the flashes following every discharge — quite a brilliant 
display of fireworks. 



Old linen was a necessary and scarce article. Mrs. 
Hogan, a lady over So years of age, lived on Main 
opposite Bank street. She had some linen sheets that 
had been the pride of her earl}^ wifehood in the old 
country. Tradition says she spun and wove them 
before her marriage. She bought a weaver's steel 
comb and with it combed them into lint, making a 
large boxful, which she presented to the Soldier's Aid 
society and it was fowarded with their other articles 
to the hospitals of the army, to be used in dressing 
wounds. Mrs. Young, who sent three of her sons 
into the army, came to the academy hall one day 
bringing a bed-tick, saying, " My poor boy had no bed 
under him when he died, and I want to send this so 
that some other mother's son may be more comfort- 
able than my boy was." 

No one regrets more than I do that no record was 
kept of what these noble women did. Said one 
bright matron, in answer to a question : 






Mrs. a. Wears. 

Mrs. Charles Sanborn. 

Mrs. G. L. Remick. 



Mrs. B. H. Bartlett. 
Mrs. a. J. Young. 
Mrs. W. H. Berry. 



COMMISSIONER D. K. FOSTER. 1 83 

"No, we did not have an organization. We met to 
work, and when it was time to go home, we tool<; the 
unfinished garments with us and finished them ; we 
ransacked our houses for old sheets and pillow-slips 
to make bandages, and every bit of linen we could get 
we scraped into lint. Some ladies who were invalids 
and unable to leave their homes, did as much as any 
of us. I recall Mrs. W. C. Osgood, Henry W. 
Osgood's mother, who was confined to her bed most 
of the time, yet she managed, with the help of her 
daughter, to do as much as most of us." Another 
said : 

" Oh, the terrible waiting, the anxiety and suspense ! 
We would run to the post-office for a letter, and if none 
were there we would almost cry; but if there were 
one from our friends in the army we dreaded to open 
it, for fear it would bring bad news. Every paper we 
took up we scarcely dared read, fearing we should see 
the name of some loved one either killed or injured. 
Then the home-coming was in many cases as sad as 
anything in those sorrowful years. We sent forth 
strong young men, we received back wrecks. Oh, it 
was terrible ! It was terrible !" And she burst into 
tears over the remembrance of thirty years ago. 

Comrades : The suffering was not all ours. These 
noble women underwent trials, as well as we in the 
army, and — God bless them — they have not forgotten 
us yet, for they have organized a Woman's Relief 
Corps, and nobly do they aid each other and any 
soldier or sailor of the late war who is sick or in dis- 
tress. 

I assure my readers that it is with pleasure that I 
am able to place in this book the portraits of eighteen 
members of the Soldiers' Aid Society of Pittsfield. 

COMMISSIONER D. K. FOSTER. 

July 13, 1863, Governor Gilmore sent a commis- 
sion of five men to look after the wounded men at 
Gettysburg. D. K. Foster of this town was a mem- 



iS4 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

ber of this board. After his return he published a 
racy account of his trip in the Ne%v Ha?npshire Pat- 
riot of September 9, 1863, which created a great sensa- 
tion in the state but is too long to publish here. I 
have some letters from Mr. Foster to Isaac S. Carrof 
this town, from which I make the following extracts: 

Camp Hospital, 30 Army Corps, 2d Division, near 
Gettysburg, Penn., July 19, 1863. 
Mj'. Carr: 

I wrote a letter on my arrival here and how I found Asa, 
etc., which I suppose you have received. He is still doing 
well. I conversed with the doctors yesterday about Asa's 
going home, his ability to endure tlie journey and the expe- 
diency of attempting to move him, etc. Their opinion is 
that from the nature and position of his wounds it would be 
neither wise nor safe to remove him at present, but to let 
him remain here for a week or fortnight, till the wound heals 
within, so as not to incur the danger of rupture w^hich the 
josthng and excitement of travel might produce, and if they 
should, would be liable to kill him on the way. 

I am doing all I can for his comfort, and not neglecting 
altogether other New Hampshire boys who are here on all 
sides with legs off and holes through them in all places and 
directions. 

Yesterday I walked to Gettysburg over the battle-field with 
a New Hampshire boy of the Twelfth regiment, who showed 
me the ground where they fought, pointed out the ground 
of the alternate charge and retreat, the spot where Lieutenant 
French fell and died, but no trace of his grave could we find. 
There is one trench with a board set up telling " Here lie 
seventeen bodies,'' and they are so near the spot where 
French was killed that the probability is that he is one of the 
number. Still he may have been carried tarther away hy 
those detailed to bury the dead. I mean to look farther if I 
have time and strength. 

July 20, p. m. Am now at Gettysburg. Walked down 
with a Twelfth New Hampshire boy. Currier, from Jiristol. 
This morning went blackberrying again with five or six of 
our Granite boys and brought in a bushel or more. I bought 
milk of an avaricious Dutchwoman at seven cents a pint, and 









Mrs. H. a. Tuttle. 
Mrs. W. a. Mack. 
Mrs. Oliver Perkins. 



Mrs. W. W. Proctor. 
Mrs. Henry Young. 
Mrs. Hannah Proctor. 



REV. JOSEPH HARVEY. 1 85 

she wanted to skim it at that price, but I blew her up for the 
insult and put her under oath that it was not skimmed when 
she returned from the milk room. I then paid her, hoped 
she would have a peaceful conscience, and departed for camp, 
and cheered Asa and others with a draught of the milk and 
berries. 

D. K. Foster. 

I am informed tliat the dairy women of this part of Penn- 
sylvania keep their milk in earthern vessels with a handle on 
one side, shaped like certain pieces of crockery found in all 
well reirulated bedrooms in New England. 



'&' 



REV. JOSEPH HARVEY. 

On that memorable Sunday morning on May 18, 
when the first men left Pittsfield for the army, an 
account of which has been given in another place In 
this book, Rev. Joseph Harvey was holding service 
in the meeting-house at Kelley's Corner in Chichester. 
When the teams containing the men came in sight, 
Elder Harvey said, " My friends, there comes a noble 
band of men who are going to help fight the battles of 
our country; let us take a recess of ten minutes and 
cheer them as they go by." 

Then the entire congregation, led by their pastor, 
stood by the road-side and cheered with a hearty will 
each wagon as it passed. 

Elder Harvey took great interest in the war until it 
closed. In 1862 he was appointed chaplain of the 
Twelfth regiment. While he was preparing to 
assume the duties of that office, another clergyman 
persuaded him not to do so, telling him that he could 
do more good where he was, aiding the wounded and 
sick and looking after the welfare of soldiers' fiimilies, 
than as chaplain of a regiment. 

During the war he went to the front five times to 
bring back the sick and wounded. He brought home 
Asa O. Carr, C. L. Sweat, J. M. Marston, G. H. 
Sanborn, and C. O. Durgin of Pittsfield, besides sev- 
eral from other towns. 



1 86 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

He got Geo. H. Sanborn from the hospital under 
the care of Miss Harriet P. Dame, who thought it very 
doubtful if Sanborn lived until he reached home, his 
wound was in such a frightful condition. When they 
reached Worcester Elder Harvey bought a sheet, and 
folding it into sixteen thicknesses he bound it on to 
Sanborn's wound ; and yet before they reached Pitts- 
field the wound discharged so much matter that it 
soaked through all of this cloth. 

One time while in Washington, Elder Harvey 
applied to the provost-marshal for a pass to go to 
Harrison's Landing. This was refused. 

" I have orders from higher authority than you to 
go down there," said the elder, "and if the Lord is 
willing I shall go." 

- "I should like to see you do it," said the official 
with a chuckle. 

Our friend at once started for the secretary of war. 
Going up to Mr. Stanton, he asked for a pass. 

*'You can't have it," replied the secretary. 

"But I have an order here from the governor of 
New Hampshire to go down there and bring back 
these men who are wounded," and he produced the 
paper bearing the seal of our state, "and you would 
not want me to go back and tell the people of our 
state that you would not allow me to execute the gov- 
ernor's orders ! " 

The secretary then gave the required pass. As the 
elder was leaving, Stanton said, " I believe you have 
been here before." 

"Yes, once," replied Harvey. 

"Well, don't come here again," Stanton said. 

"I assure you I will not if I can get what I want 
without," was the elder's reply, as he hurried away, 
and he was the only civilian who got through to the 
army while at Harrison's Landing. 

At Point Lookout he applied to General Marston 
for permission to take a man home on very important 
business. His request was denied. "Now, general," 
said the elder, "you are a pretty good man, I like 



JOHN BEKRY. 1 87 

you first-rate, and I wish you would n't swear so 
much, but I must have this man, and if God is 
willing, I will have him back in ten days." 

Just then an officer came up, and throwing his arms 
around Harvey, said, "I am glad to see you. Elder, I 
want you to preach to us." 

"I will do so," he replied, "if you will have the 
men ready in ten minutes." 

In less than that time over 1,500 men had gathered 
to listen to him. As soon as he had finislied speaking, 
before the closing exercises, an officer came up and 
said : 

"You must run to catch the boat, the man you 
came for is on board waiting for you." 

He had a faculty of getting from all, regardless of 
rank, what he wanted : some perhaps might call it 
personal magnetism. 

One of the men whom he brought home was in so 
low a condition that the elder brought him all the way 
in his arms, as if he had been an infant. His pro- 
digious strength enabled him to do so. He had 
boundless courage, and yet he was as gentle and sym- 
pathetic as a woman. 

JOHN BERRY. 

Perhaps it may cause jealousy to speak in partic- 
ular of one man who did not go to the front, when so 
many of our townsmen who stayed at home did so 
much, but no soldier or soldier's family can ever for- 
get " Uncle John Berry." 

The old man took great interest in the war, and 
acted as agent for the Soldiers' Aid Society. He 
visited every man from this town after he went into 
camp, and would inquire if the recruit wanted any- 
thing, and if he did he would furnish it at once. 

This is how he appeared at the camp. He carried 
a huge gripsack filled with articles furnished by the 
good ladies of the town — testaments, handkerchiefs, 
suspenders, socks, and in cold weather mittens, and 



1 88 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

many other articles. Going up to one of our men he 
would inquire for his health. Then he would pull 
out from his sack one of each of the above articles 
and say, — 

"Here is something the women-folks sent down to 
you. Now ain't there something more you want?" 

If he could find out that there was, he would buy it 
out of his own pocket. He spent hundreds of dollars 
in this way. It was amusing to hear him talk. 

" D — n it, sir, can't I do something more for you? 
Where is your knapsack? " 

This he would overhaul. If he could think of 
anything he was sure to provide it ; a shirt, a pair of 
drawers, or socks. 

"Now," he would say, "where is that d — d thing 
you carry your victuals in? " 

The haversack would be produced and into this he 
would put something. 

" D — n it, sir, you have n't any liniment ! You must 
have some liniment, just the thing for bruises or to 
keep out the cold," and in would go a pint bottle of 
liniment {P). 

Every one has some story to tell of " Uncle John." 
He furnished a large quantity of material for the 
ladies to work up at the Soldiers' Aid Society. He 
was always with them, helping in every way he could. 

A middle-aged man says, " I was too young to en- 
list, but I remember how Uncle John Berry would 
find me on the street and ask me to ride. He would 
have a lot of baskets and bundles in his wagon. He 
would drive to a house and send me in with a package 
for the family, and I remember it was always a 
soldier's family, and when the wife came to the door 
to thank him, he would say, ' Jump in here, young 
man,' and then to the woman, ' Never mind about 
that ; your husband is a d — d good soldier.' Then he 
would swing his bumble-bee, as he called his whip, 
and his old horse would jog along to find another 
family." 



MASS MEETINGS. 



During 1861 there was no need of meetings to stim- 
ulate enlistments, indeed more men enlisted than 
could be equipped. Some who had enlisted in the 
summer of that year did not leave the state until Jan- 
uary, 1862, owing to the want of arms. Then came 
a lull in the enthusiasm. The first meeting to encour- 
age enlistments was held in the town hall, June 28, 
1862. S. J. Alexander of Concord made a stirring 
address, but he induced but one man to enter the 
company that he was raising for the Ninth regiment. 

August 4, an open-air meeting was held in the 
evening. The people congregated in front of W. B. 
Drake's hotel, then standing on the lot now occupied 
by Governor Tuttle's residence. Stirring speeches 
were made by several men, among whom were S. H. 
French, Benjamin Emerson, R. T. Leavitt, L. W. 
Clark, L. W. Osgood, Charles S. George of Barn- 
stead, and others. The most effective one was that 
delivered by a lady on the steps of the Baptist church. 
It was as follows : Her husband asked her what she 
thought about his enlisting. 

" Think of it ! " she shouted at the top of her voice. 
" Why, if I were a man I would enlist before I 
slept ; I should be ashamed not to go ! " 

A few evenings later another meeting was held in 
Washington Square and enlisting went forward as 
rapidly as the year before. June 3, 1863, a mass 
meeting was held at the town hall, but enlisting was 
afterwards conducted more by personal solicitation 
than by public appeal. 

So rapid had been the enlisting during 1861, that 
the government could not furnish equipments as fast 



190 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

as the recruits arrived in camp. Indeed, some men 
who enlisted from this town in August, did not leave 
the state until the following January, owing to the 
lack of arms. 

During the winter and spring of 1862, there was no 
recruiting at all. June 28 of that year, Samuel J. 
Alexander of Concord, who had just graduated from 
college, came to Pittsfield and spoke to an audience 
in the town hall on the all absorbing topic of the 
war. The result was, that he received one recruit, 

THOMAS DELANEY, 

an Irishman who worked in the cotton factory, who 
was mustered into Company B, Ninth New Hamp- 
shire volunteers, — of which company Mr. Alexander 
became captain — July 24, 1862, and with the regi- 
ment left for Washington, August 25. 

On Sunday, Sept. 14, Delaney was wounded at 
the Battle of South Mountain. As soon as his wounds 
were dressed he returned to his company and three 
days later was in the Battle ofAntietam. The next 
regular battle in which he was engaged was Freder- 
icksburg, December 13. The regiment was then sent 
to Kentucky and Tennessee, and remained until June 
4, 1863, when they left to take part in the siege of 
Vicksburg. After the fall of that city, the regiment 
was sent with others under General Sherman against 
Jackson, Miss., and in one of these battles near that 
place, either July 12 or 13, 1863, Delaney was again 
wounded, this time quite severely. 

After remaining in various hospitals for some time, 
he was transferred to the Veterans' Reserve corps, 
January 15, 1864, and stationed at Elmira, N. Y., 
guarding prisoners, until the close of the war. 

His death occurred some twenty years ago. 



THE DRAFTS. 



The quota of men from Pittsfield, under all the calls 
of the president, was seventy-eight. The number en- 
listing from this town, including one drafted man, was 
one hundred and forty-seven. The number of men 
left in town in April, 1865, between the ages of iS and 
45, as returned by the enrolling officer, was ninety- 
five. This number included " the lame, the halt, 
and the blind," the lunatics and idiots — men who had 
already served their country and been discharged for 
disease or wounds, or expiration of term of service. 
It is doubtful if there were fifty men in town who 
would have been accepted by the government as sol- 
diers. 

At one time, fourteen men who had been drafted 
appeared at Concord. Everyone of them was reject- 
ed by the board of examiners, and one of the doctors 
asked Mr. French, who was the agent to fill the quota, 
*' Have n't you got one sound man in Pittsfield ? " 

Mr. Drake, the only drafted man who went into the 
army, was so very deaf that it was almost impossible 
to converse with him. Some may ask why any one 
from Pittsfield was drafted when her quota was more 
than full. The explanation is as follows : The larger 
part of the enlistments were during the first years of 
the war, when the patriotic sons of Pittsfield enlisted 
by the score. When the draft was ordered in 1863, 
these enlistments were allowed, but soon it was found 
that people living in a town whose quota was not 
complete would claim residence in a town where the 
people had answered the call to arms, therefore it 
was decided to subject every man to the chance of the 
draft, so that Pittsfield, that had sent nearly twice the 
number of men required, was obliged to see some of 



192 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

her sons drafted. Various schemes were started 
to evade the law. Some men who had been per- 
fectly well, boasting that they never had a doctor 
in their lives, were turned at once into decrepit inva- 
lids. Others went to Canada to " guard the frontier," 
but tl:ie most common and perfectly honorable method 
was to form clubs of say twenty members, paying a 
certain sum, generally $25, making $500. If any 
member was drafted he was allowed to draw from the 
common fund sufficient to obtain a substitute ; if more 
of the club were drafted, they would assess themselves 
to make up what money was needed. If none of the 
members were drafted, then the club would disband, 
each taking his share of the money. 

It has been customary to sneer at the men who pro- 
cured substitutes, but all men are not constituted alike, 
and if a man had not the courage to enlist it was far more 
honorable in him to secure some one to take his place, 
than to go himself and be obliged to " show the white 
feather," in the face of the enemy, and thereby en- 
danger his comrades by creating a panic. Again : 
most people look upon a substitute as a poor des- 
picable being ; while the truth is, the large majority 
of them were good, honorable men, many of whom 
had already seen three years' service, and were willing 
to enlist again, but they found that by going as a sub- 
stitute they could get several hundred dollars in addi- 
tion to the regular bounty, and they took it. 

There was another class of men whose business 
prevented their leaving home, on whom vast enter- 
prises depended, or who were the support of a whole 
community, as we might say. These men were 
mostly patriotic, and contributed of their means very 
liberally to support the war ; and to evade the draft, 
sent a representative (or substitute), and so they were 
exempt, for in the eye of the law such a man was 
already in the service. But here was a singular thing, 
if the representative died, the principal was subject to 
the draft. 



TOWN RECORDS. 



At the annual town meeting held on the 12th of 
March, 1S61, Jackson Freese and William W. Proc- 
tor, M. D., were chosen representatives to the legisla- 
ture which met at Concord on the first Wednesday of 
the following June. Sylvester H. French, Moses L. 
Norris, and Reuben T. Leavitt were chosen select- 
men. 

When the voters of Pittsfield separated on that cold 
night and rattled over the frozen ground to their 
homes, they little thought that they would so soon be 
called together again. 

To be sure they knew that several of the southern 
states had passed an ordinance of secession ; they 
knew that a vessel sent to relieve the garrison of one 
of our forts had been fired upon ; the}^ knew that for- 
tifications were being built to reduce or capture Fort 
Sumter ; they knew that the people of the south 
were arming themselves as if for a conflict, but they 
believed that a peace would be patched up, that new 
compromises would be effected and that harmony 
would be restored. Had not the United States an 
army often thousand men, and what state or combi- 
nation of states would dare to confront such an army 
as that? Had they dreamed of what they must pass 
through during the next four years, had they known 
of the blood and treasure to be expended, the homes 
to be made desolate, they would not have rested as 
quietly as they did. Fortunate it is for us that we do 
not know what the future has in store for us ! We 
would turn away heartsick from the task we must 
accomplish. 

On the 25th day of April the selectmen issvied n 
9 



194 



PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 



warrant for a special town meeting to be holden on 
the I ith of May. Among other articles in the warrant 
were, — 

To see if the town will furnish and present to each and 
every person who has, or may volunteer and be accepted from 
said town, and go into the active military service of said 
state or the United States government during the present 
war, a complete equipment of side-arms and articles of com- 
fort. To see if the town will support and assist and take 
care of any and all families of such volunteers which may in 
any way be in need of such support, assistance, and care of 
their respective homes. 

At the meeting so called it was 

Voted, To furnish and present to each and every person 
that has, or may volunteer and be accepted from said town, 
and go into the actual military service of said state or the 
United States government during the present war a rubber 
blanket. 

That the selectmen be directed and authorized and empow- 
ered to borrow or hire, on credit of the town, certain sum or 
sums of money from time to time, as the same may be needed, 
not exceeding in all one thousand dollars, to be appropriated 
by a committee of two, to be chosen by said town for the pur- 
pose, towards the support of any family residing in town 
whenever the husband or any member of the family upon 
whom the family are dependent for support, has enlisted or 
may hereafter enlist and go into service of the United States, 
said family needing assistance in the opinion of said commit- 
tee and no such support to be furnished to any such family not 
needing it, and no such support to be withheld so long as 
such family may need it and such husband or other person 
remains in said service, said assistance is considered as gra- 
tuitous and voluntary on the part of the town and has noth- 
ing relevant to or in any way or manner touching pauperism 
or pauper laws, said committee to make annual returns of 
their doings to the town treasurer. 

This was the first vote taken by any town in the 
state for carrying on the war, and, as far as I have 
been able to learn, in the entire north. The commit- 
tee chosen was Benjamin L. Cram and James Drake. 







Benjamin Emerson. 
Lewis Bunker. 
Abraham French, 2d. 





L 



R. P. J. Tenney. 

Jame3 Drake. 

Rev. Joseph Harvey. 



TOWN RECORDS. 1 95 

The following resoliations, drawn by J. C. French 
and introduced by Lewis W. Osgood, were adopted 
by the meeting. After their introduction Mr. French 
made a ringing address to the voters, and men who a 
few weeks before would have nothing to do with each 
other politically, for the first time were found v/orking 
and voting together. 

Resolved, That we, the legal voters of the town of Pitts- 
field, being justly alarmed at the present perilous condition 
of our country, do earnestly hope and pray that the kind 
Providence which has prospered us as a nation in the past 
may overrule and direct the aifairs of our nation in such a 
manner that we may be spared from any further evils of this 
civil and fratricidal war. And while we so earnestly depre- 
cate the great national calamity we do pledge in support of 
our country our lives and fortunes and our sacred honor. 
^ Resolved, That in the present excited state of our govern- 
ment, we are utterly opposed to all discussion and agitation 
of the question of Aiiiericaii slavery and other political issues 
which have a tendency to prevent a union of sentiment and 
effort to support and defend our common country. 

Resolved, That we extend our most sincere thanks and 
regards to all those of our townsmen who have left their 
homes for the defence of our country, for their noble and 
patriotic response to its call, and we pledge them on our 
honor that we will cheerfully protect their wives and children 
at home, and we will most cheerfully protect the wives and 
children of those who may hereafter volunteer. 

How well the citizens of Pittsfield kept this resolu- 
tion the following pages will show. 

There are two facts brought out by reading the 
records of this meeting; one is the crude ideas people 
had in regard to war ; the other, the intense patriotism 
of the people. 

It did not occur to any one until after the meeting 
was called but what the town had a right to arm and 
equip its citizens with arms, which of itself would be 
an act of war ; therefore no action was taken to buy 
side-arms for those who enlisted. As soon as it was 
found that money could not be raised legally by the 



196 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION, 

town to buy side-arms for the men who enlisted, a 
subscription paper was at once started and money 
enough raised to purchase for every man who had 
enlisted up to that time a revolver and dirk-knife, — 
two of the most useless things an infantry man could 
have. 

Each man who went in the Second New Hamp- 
shire regiment received a rubber blanket. One sol- 
dier says that they were the best of their kind that he 
ever saw. It was found that the state could furnish 
them cheaper than the town, so the subsequent regi- 
ments were supplied by the state, thus relieving the 
town from its obligation. 

Let us turn for a few moments and see what our 
townsmen were doing at Concord in that summer of 
1 86 1. Dr. Proctor, one of our representatives, had 
died. Dr. R. P. J. Tenney was a member of the 
governor's council. The legislature was in a terrible 
turmoil. Each party was trying, then as now, to 
make all of the political capital they could out of the 
affairs of the country, regardless of everything else. 

Here was enacted one of the most dramatic scenes 
that ever took place in a legislative body. A bill had 
been brought in entitled "An act to aid in the 
defence of the country." It gave the governor and 
council almost unlimited power. The opposition 
fought against it for all they were worth. A power- 
ful influence was brought to bear on Mr. Freese to 
make him vote with his political friends, and as their 
leader rushed down the aisle swinging his fists, and 
shouting "Traitor! traitor!" to Mr. Freese, some 
who had favored the bill gave way and opposed it. 
Mr. Freese stood firm by what he believed to be 
right and recorded his vote accordingly. It must be 
a source of gratification to him to know that although 
he alone of all his party voted for it, yet he has lived 
to see his act endorsed by every lover of his country. 
As we look at it to-day we can see that it was a dan- 
gerous precedent, but in time of war risks must be 
taken. 



.TOWN RECORDS. 1 97 

After the committee chosen at this meeting in May 
had expended over seventy dollars as directed, it was 
discovered that it was not legal, so a petition was sent 
to the legislature and an act was passed to authorize 
towns to aid the families of volunteers, and another 
meeting was called on Saturday, October 12, to act 
under the new law, when the business was gone 
through with again ; but as it was thought that the 
old committee could not settle with themselves for 
what was illegally expended, a new committee, con- 
sisting of Josiah Carpenter, William H. Berry, and 
Granville L. Remick, were chosen in their place. 
Then the meeting adjourned for one week. At the 
last meeting everything was decided as legal and the 
committee qualified and entered upon the duties of 
their office. 

At the annual election in JNIarch, 1862, the old 
board of officers to manage town affairs were reelec- 
ted, and it w^as voted that the sum of one thousand 
dollars be raised to aid the families of volunteers, and 
that the selectmen be a committee to appropriate the 
same. 

Josiah Carpenter and Lewis Bunker were chosen 
as representatives to the legislature. 

At a special town meeting held July 26, the sum of 
three thousand dollars was voted to be borrowed to 
aid in enlisting men. This was the beginning of our 
town debt that remains unpaid to this day. Previous 
to this time no bounties had been paid, and most of the 
men who had entered the army were unmarried. 
There were many men who did not want to leave 
their families unprovided for, and many had a small 
homestead encumbered by a mortgage, and they felt 
that if this could be raised, so that their loved ones 
might have a home, they could go. 

The large issue of paper money had depreciated its 
value, so that thirteen dollars per month had not the 
same purchasing power that it had the year before, 
and the only way to equalize this matter was by 
bounties. To be sure, the men w^ho had already 



198 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

enlisted had to make the best of then- bargain and 
trust to the honor of their government to make good 
the deficiency, and they have trusted until this day, 
but in vain. 

A special town meeting was called August 18, 
1862, among other things, to see if the town would 
vote to increase the state bounty of fifty dollars to 
one hundred dollars ; that is, to see if the town would 
pay fifty dollars in addition to what the state paid. 
This the town refused to do. The reason for this 
refusal was that the bounty was not large enough. 

Previous to holding the last meeting another had 
been warned, which was held August 23. At this 
meeting, the following resolution, offered by Josiah 
Carpenter, was adopted : 

Resolved^ That the selectmen be instructed to pay three 
hundred dollars bounty to each volunteer for filling up our 
quota of the call of the commander-in-chief for three hundred 
thousand men to serve for three years, or during the war, 
and that they be paid in the order of their enlistment until 
the quota shall be filled, and furthermore, that the select- 
men be authorized to borrow, on the credit of the town and 
on the best terms obtainable, a sum of money sufficient to 
pay said bounty. 

The following amendment was offered by P. J. Hook 
by leave of said Carpenter : After the words "be filled " 
insert the words, " when they are mustered into the 
United States service;" and on motion ofM. V. B. 
Edgerly, voted to further amend the resolution by in- 
serting after the previous amendment, " and to other 
persons who shall enlist in the United States service 
for the term of three years, or during the war, prior to 
the first day of September next, when they are mus- 
tered into the United States service." The meeting 
then adjourned for one week. 

Up to this time Sylvanus Smith had been town 
clerk, but having enlisted he resigned his office, and 
Edward O. Sanderson was appointed to his place. 

At the adjourned meeting, August 30, it was voted, 



. TOWN RECORDS. 1 99 

on motion of William Yeaton, that the town pay a 
bounty of two hundred dollars to each volunteer who 
enlisted to fill up the quota of men for nine months, 
and voted that the selectmen be authorized to borrow, 
on the credit of the town and on the best terms 
obtainable, a sum of money sufficient to pay such 
bounties and pav the same to said volunteers as soon 
as thev are mustered into the United States service. 

At a special town meeting holden October 4, it was 
voted, on motion of John Berr}'^, that the selectmen 
be authorized to borrow the sum of twelve thousand' 
and six hundred dollars on the credit of the town, and 
on motion of Geo. Snell it was voted to instruct the 
selectmen to apply the same in liquidating the debt 
already incurred in paying bounties to volunteers. 
Many men had enlisted at that time, but had not re- 
ceived their bounty. 

At the annual meeting, March 11, 1S63, the town 
chose Charles T. B. Knowlton as clerk ; Josiah Car- 
penter and Lewis Bunker as representatives ; Sylves- 
ter H. French, John J. Jenness, and Joseph E. Green- 
leaf as selectmen. The town debt had now increased 
so that twelve hundred dollars was needed to pay the 
interest. It was also voted that the selectmen be 
authorized to borrow on the credit of the town, at 
such times as may be necessary, a sum not exceeding 
three thousand dollars for the aid of families of vol- 
unteers. 

On Tuesday, the eleventh day of August, 1S63, a 
special meeting of the town was holden to act upon 
the following articles : 

Second. To see if the town aforesaid will vote to pay 
a bounty of three hundred dollars to each and every person 
who may be drafted or conscripted from said town under the 
laws of the United States, to serve during the existing rebel- 
lion, and who shall be actually accepted and go into the ser- 
vice of the United States, or to each substitute for such con- 
script, and raise money therefor. 

Third. To see if the town will vote to pay to the United 
States the sum of three hundred dollars for each and every 



2 00 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

person who may be conscripted or drafted from said town 
\mder the laws of the United States and is not by law 
exempt therefrom, as an equivalent which the act of con- 
gress provides may be paid by drafted or conscripted mem- 
bers of the enrolled militia in lieu of actual service of him- 
self or his substitute in the army of the United States, and 
raise money therefor. 

The records of this meeting siiow that on motion 
of Hiram A. Tuttle, it was 

Voted, That the town pay a bounty of three hundred 
dollars to each and every person who may be drafted or con- 
scripted from this town under the laws of the United States 
to serve in the army of the United States during the existing 
rebellion, and who shall be actually accepted and go into the 
service of the United States, or to each substitute for such 
conscript ; and that the selectmen be authorized and in- 
structed to borrow on the credit of the town the sum of 
eight thousand dollars therefor, and pay out the same agree- 
ably to the laws of the state. 

Voted, That the third article of the warrant be dismissed. 

Pursuant to a warrant issued by the selectmen, the 
voters of the town met in a special meeting, Novem- 
ber 30, 1863, and on motion of Jonathan Palmer it 
was 

Voted, That the sum of ten thousand dollars be appropri- 
ated for the purpose of encouraging voluntary enlistments to 
fill the quota of this town under the call of the president of 
the United States of October 17, 1863, for 300,000 volun- 
teers, and that the selectmen be authorized to apply the sum, 
or so much thereof as they may think proper, for the pay- 
ment of such bounties or making such advances to volunteers 
for that purpose as they may think proper, and of expenses 
in procuring such volunteers ; and that the selectmen borrow 
said sum of ten thousand dollars, or so much thereof as they 
may think proper, on the credit of the town and to give the 
notes of the town tlierefor. 

The meeting adjourned for two weeks. At that 
meeting the clerk was absent and Daniel Sanderson 
was elected clerk pro tem. It was 




J. E. Greenleaf. 
J. J. Jenness. 
A. C. Walker. 



S. H. French. 
Jeremiah Clark. 
R. T. Leavitt. 



TOWN RECORDS. 



20I 



,\Z ,\ ? '"'"? "''' '"™ "f'^o thousand dollars in add! 
.on to the en thousand dollars voted at the original ,«ee" 
ng of winch th.s is an adjourned meeting, tl? said two 

tTZ'Zh:^:' -'^^«-P^'-«' thes^neasllfesaTd^ 

MaTch r^'Xt^T'f , "^r'^'^ ^'''^ '^^''' °" Tuesday, 
Match 8, ,864, at which Owen Reynolds and Tona- 

than Palmer were chosen as representatives, and [ohn 

J. Jenness, Joseph E. Greenleaf, and Andrew C 

Walker were elected selectmen, and Charles T B 

Knovvlton town clerk. 

th.Vf T' ?'"'', '°, ''j''^' "P°" "!<= '^'■e^lit "f the town 
th.ty-five hundred dollars to aid the families ofTol-' 
unteers, and also to hire the sum often thousand dol .a s 
to oncot,rage enhstments. Up to this time, John T 
P ilsbury had been moderator of every meetmg, bu 
on May 28 a specal meeting was held, and Mr 
P.l sbury havmg left town Henry H. Huse who 
had served as captain in Con^panJ G, EighUi' New 

ChTesTr'^'"""'' r' =1--" to' preside, and 
Cha les T. Cram was chosen clerk pro tem. At this 
meetnig, on motion of Josiah Carpenter, it was 

Voted That the sum often thousand dollars be raised and 
appropriated ior the purpose of encouraging enlistments to 

and'tY ?r''; °' ;'" '°"" """"§ ">^ P--« poht S "ear 
and to pay bounties to such persons as may durino- Sh 

year, be drafted or conscripted from the town' for eficen 

the army of the United States, during the existing reMfon 

or to their substitutes as provided by law. That tlfe selectmen 

be authorized to borrow such portions of said sum of en 

oX"credU :?th: t"^ ""^ f™™ ?""^ '° ''- ''^ I-P" 
U e efor Thai t '°"'"' =>"'' '° S'™ "'^ notes of the town 
tnere or. That the selectmen be authorized to pay such a 
bounty, not exceeding three hundred dollars, as they may 
thmk proper to each volunteer, to (ill any quo a of the town 
during the present political year, and such a bi nty no 
exceeding the sum which may be authorized by law to 
such persons who may during the year be drafted rcon- 
scriptec from the town for service in the army of tl,e UnUed 
States durmg the existing rebellion, or to their substitutes In 



2 02 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

accordance with the provision of the law therein found 
relating thereto. 

On August lo. 1S64, another special meeting was 
called. Henry H. Huse was chosen moderator, and 
Frank E. Randall clerk pro tern. After a long dis- 
cussion as to what method to pursue, it adjourned 
until the next Monday ; at that time it was voted to 
choose an agent to fill the quota, and on ballot Syl- 
vester H. French was chosen unanimously. This I 
claim was the highest compliment ever paid to any 
man by the town. As an agent he handled the 
town's money by the tens of thousands of dollars, and 
without bonds, and was never called upon to make a 
report. 

The reason Mr. French did not orive bonds was be- 
cause the law limited the amount to be paid to each 
recruit as bounty, but men could not be had for that 
amount, as other states were bidding for their ser- 
vices. So Pittsfield had to pay more than the law al- 
lowed, and her agent performed his duties in a very 
discreet manner, and to the satisfaction of his towns- 
men. 

After his election Mr. French asked to have a 
committee of five appointed to bring a resolution to 
specify how much money to raise and how the same 
should be appropriated. The committee so named 
were Jonathan Palmer, Hiram A. Tuttle, William 
Knowlton, Joseph Roby, and Sylvanus Smith, who 
reported as follows : 

Resolved, That the selectmen be authorized to borrow a 
sum of money not exceeding thirty thousand dollars and 
give the notes of the town for the same, to be appropriated 
by the agent of the town for the payment of bounties to 
soldiers who may be mustered into the service of the United 
States to fill the quota of the town under the last call of the 
president for five hundred thousand men, and the expenses 
of procuring said soldiers, at his discretion. And the treas- 
urer of the town is hereby authorized to pay said sums of 
money to the said agent as he may order. 



TOWN RECORDS. 203 

The meeting then adjourned till one week later, 
when it was voted to raise thirty thousand dollars on 
the best possible terms, and it was also voted that the 
amount of bounty paid to citizens of this town who 
should enlist and be mustered into the service, of 
the United States, should be double the amount paid 
by the state. The meeting then adjourned one week, 
but as nothing new had developed in the meantime, 
the meeting dissolved. 

September 3, 1864, another special meeting of the 
town was held, and after choosing Capt. H. H. 
Huse as moderator, it was voted to lay aside the 
warrant for the present, so that an expression of the 
people might be obtained. Ringing patriotic speeches 
were made by Jonathan Palmer, Isaac S. Carr, Josiah 
Carpenter, James Drake, John L. Thorndike, and sev- 
eral others. 

It was then voted to raise the sum of thirty thousand 
dollars, and to appropriate the same to pay bounties 
according to the provision of the " act of August 19, 
to facilitate the raising of troops," as follows : 

To such persons, except those enlisted in or from insur- 
gent states, who shall be mustered into the military, naval, 
or marine service of the United States to fill the quota of 
this town, under the call of the president of July, 1864, 
whether volunteer, enlisted man, or volunteer substitute for 
an enrolled or enlisted man, a bounty according to the term 
of his enlistment, of one hundred dollars for one year, or of two 
hundred dollars for two years, or of three hundred dollars for 
three years' enlistment, or in the same proportion for any 
other term of service. 

To such persons drafted for one year from this town, and 
mustered into the service of the United States as a part of 
the quota of this town under the call aforesaid, a bounty of 
two hundred dollars. 

To such inhabitants of this town for three months previous 
to enlisting, who may enlist to fill the quota of the town 
under the call aforesaid, and actually mustered into the mili- 
tary, naval, or marine service of the United States, a bounty, 
according to the term of enlistment, of one thousand dollars 
for one year, of twelve hundred dollars for two years, of 
fifteen hundred dollars for three years' enlistment. 



204 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

It was also 

Voted, That the selectmen be authorized to borrow such 
portion of the aforesaid sum of thirty thousand dollars as 
they may from time to time think proper on the credit of 
the town, and give the notes of the town therefor, and the 
same be applied to the payment of bounties according to 
the foregoing notes. 

The meeting then adjourned until the next Wednes- 
day, thinking that perhaps something might occur 
that would necessitate further action, but it appears 
that they only met to adjourn without date. 

At a special meeting holden December 3, 1864, 
Abram French, 2d, was chosen moderator, and Moses 
L. Norris, clerk pro tem. It was voted to raise the 
sum of twelve thousand dollars and appropriate the 
same to pay bounties, according to provision of the 
act of the legislature of the state to facilitate the rais- 
ing of troops, as follows : 

To all persons who shall or have been mustered into the 
military, naval, or marine service of the United States to fill 
the quota of this town, in anticipation of any future call of 
the president for troops, whether volunteer, enlisted men, 
enrolled in this town, or volunteer substitutes for enrolled 
men, a bounty according to their term of enlistment, of 
one hundred dollars for one year, or two hundred dollars for 
two years, or three hundred dollars for three years' enlist- 
ment, or in the same proportion for any other term of 
service. 

Then followed the usual vote for borrowing the 
money by giving the town-notes. 

The annual meeting for 1865 was held on Tuesday, 
March 14. Abram French, 2d, was unanimously 
chosen moderator, and Charles T. Cram clerk ; 
Owen Reynolds and Jonathan Palmer as representa- 
tives ; Jeremiah Clark, Peter J. Hook, and John E. 
Shaw, as selectmen. At this meeting it was voted 
to raise three thousand dollars to aid the families 
of volunteers. The following resolution, submitted 








W. W. Proctor. 

J. W. D. Knowlton. 

G. L.. Remick. 



Jackson Freese. 
John Berry. 
JosiAH Carpenter, 



TOWN RECORDS. 205 

by John J. Jenness, was, on motion of Josiah Car- 
penter, adopted : 

Resolved, That the selectmen be authorized to borrow on 
the credit of the town a sum not to exceed twenty thousand 
dollars for the purpose of encouraging enlistments and pay- 
ing bounties to those who may procure substitutes, said 
bounties to those who enlist and count on the quota of the 
town for one year to be two hundred dollars, for two years 
to be four hundred dollars, for three years six hundred dol- 
lars ; and to the procuring of substitutes for one year one 
hundred dollars, for two years two hundred dollars, for three 
years three hundred dollars. And furthermore, that the 
said selectmen be empowered, should they at any time think 
best, to procure substitutes in anticipation of a future call. 

This was the last meeting of the town before the 
close of the war, and I doubt if any other place can 
show a record equal to it. 

The promise made by the town on that nth day of 
May^, 1861, was faithfully kept, for the records show 
that Pittsfield expended $159,100 towards support- 
ing the families of soldiers and as bounty to those who 
enlisted. This was about twenty-five per cent, of the 
valuation of the town in 1861. 



DOMESTIC AFFAIRS. 



A history like this would be incomplete did it not 
devote at least a small space to the domestic affairs of 
the good people of the town who remained at home. 
If any one is disposed to find fault with their present 
condition, to talk of hard times as people have always 
done — and I doubt not always will — perhaps reading 
the following pages may make them more contented 
with their lot. 

Soon after the war broke out all coin disappeared. 
The speculators, those vultures who feed and fatten on 
the people, bought up all the coin they could, and at 
once it became the craze for every person to hoard 
what little coin he possessed. Soon tradesmen paid a 
premium for small change to do business with, there- 
fore they charged more for their goods. Farmers 
could do better with their produce at the stores than 
they could if they tendered bank bills in payment for 
goods, but something must be had for use as small 
change, and at once postage stamps were chosen as 
the medium. They could be obtained everywhere 
and were something that everyone was supposed to 
use more or less of, but they were inconvenient, for 
they would stick together or become soiled and ren- 
dered worthless. 

I remember a very penurious citizen, of Loudon, 
who visited the camp ground at Concord in 1S62, sell- 
ing apples at three cents apiece. The boys would 
buy some, then wetting the stamp, stick it to the 
measure in which he carried his fruit. Soon he had 
postage stamps enough affixed to his measure to carry 
it around the world. Of course he could not get 
them off without tearing them, so instead of getting a 



DOMESTIC AFFAIRS. 



207 



big price for his fruit as he intended, by taking 
advantage of the soldiers, who were not allowed to 
leave camp, he made a complete loss. 

But something had to be done to aid the people. 
In our country, if the government does not supply the 
people's needs they will do it themselves. It was so 
in this instance. Change the people must have to 
make small purchases with, so the traders issued 
small scrip. This was done in many towns and 
cities. I have samples of this scrip issued by B. G. 
Parsons, at that time one of the leading merchants of 
the town, and I will insert here a fac-simile of the 
same. To my younger readers it will be a curiosity, 
to the older ones it will bring up memories of long 
ago. 



2 



Pittsfield, N'ov. i, 1864. 



GOOD FOR 



Two Cents, 

Bank Bills, when pr 
^en dollars. 

'B. G. Parsons. 



Payable in current Bank Bills, when pre- 
sented in sums of even dollars. 



Pittsjield, Nov. /, 1864. 
GOOD FOR 



Three Cents, 

Payable in current Bank Bills, when pre- 
sented in sums of even dollars. 

"B. G. Parsons. 



The reader will observe that the above were issued 
in the latter part of 1864. There had been previous 
issues by the same party, and when one was returned 
it was never again sent on its travels, but was 



2o8 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

destroyed. In this way Mr. Parsons was able to 
know how many of these bills were never returned. 
The government put a stop to this business by issuing 
what was known in the slang phrase of the time as 
" shin plasters," OT "fractional currency." Samples 
of these can be found in almost every collection of 
coins or curiosities. 

Of course under such conditions, with money scarce, 
all kinds of merchandise advanced to an enormous 
price. I have collected from various day books of 
our traders, bills of sale, receipts, etc., the following 
prices: Japan tea, $r.6o per pound; flour, from 
$18.50 to $22.00 per barrel ; corn meal, $4.25 per 
bag; kerosene oil, $1.50 per gallon (and it was of 
very poor quality, ranging from only 95 to no fire 
test, and of course explosions were frequent) ; sugar, 
35 cents per pound, or 3 pounds for $1.00; cheese, 
30 cents ; butter, 50 cents per pound ; men's kip 
boots, from $7.00 to $8.00 per pair; ladies' peg 
boots, $2.50 per pair; sheeting, Amoskeag A, 75 
cents per yard, a lighter grade, such as is in ordinary 
use, 65 cents ; by the web, 60 cents per yard ; a very 
thin article was sold for 50 cents ; prints were from 
48 to 50 cents per yard. These were of the grade 
known as " Cocheco." Of ticking I have found 
but one recorded sale, which was at $1.00 per yard. 
Thread was 15 cents per spool. One trader had a lot 
of " hank" thread that was so poor he could not sell 
it at any price. He kept it for years, yet during the 
war he sold it at a large profit. Rosin and tar, used 
by shoemakers to make wax, sold at 40 cents per 
pound. 

Some of the products of the farm were ver}^ high. 
Beans were $5.00 per bushel, 20 cents per quart; 
salt pork was from 28 to 30 cents per pound ; round 
hog, 20 cents per pound. John B. Berry sold one for 
$101 .00. Hay, from $35.00 to $40.00 per ton. Seven- 
foot cattle were worth from $250.00 to $300.00 ; 
lambs, from $9.00 to $12.00 each. One of the select- 
men of that time says that he used to follow the 



DOMESTIC AFFAIRS. 209 

drovers around to borrow money for the use of the 
town. 

Taxes, too, were high. A poll tax in 1864 was 
$3.54; in 1865, $4.88 ; in 1866 it reached the highest 
point, being then $5.56 ; in 1867 it was $4.82. 

I could give many more items, but I think I have 
given enough to convey an idea of the high prices 
prevailing at that time. 

Let us turn for a few minutes and see what labor 
was worth. When the w^ar broke out soldiers were 
paid $1 1 .00 per month. This was afterwards raised to 
$13.00 per month. To those who had families their 
wives got from the town $4.00 per month and 
$3.00 for each child, but no family could draw over 
$8.00 per month. Girls at domestic service got $1.50 
per week, while laboring men had $1.50 per day. 

Shoemakers, and there were many in this town 
before the war, got $15.00 for welt shoes, and $10.00 
for turned shoes per case of 60 pairs ; at this price a 
man could earn about $9.00 per week. 

Farm hands received $150.00 per year and board. 
Stephen Lougee worked for seven months in the sum- 
mer of 1864 for $18.00 per month ; for the remainder 
of the year he received $10.00 per month. 

Wages in cotton factories were equally low, indeed 
many factories had to close for want of stock. I 
find that weavers got, in 1863, 75 cents per day; in 
1863, S'j cents per day; and in 1864, $1.00 per day. 
It may occur to the reader that it was a strange condi- 
tion of affairs that wag-es should remain so low when 
so many men had gone into the army, but it must be 
remembered that many industries were at a standstill, 
especir.lly in cotton and leather, and our shipping had 
been driven from the seas and has never regained the 
importance it had before the v^^ar ; and then women 
entered upon occupations that had always before 
been held by men, as clerks, book-keepers, salesmen, 
and operatives in many manufacturing industries, 
and many of them went into the fields and cultivated 
and harvested the crops that the men had abandoned. 



2IO PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

I recall one young woman who came into the village 
with a yoke of oxen, drawing a load of potatoes that 
she with her mother and sister had raised, and our 
older residents will remember the girl who drove her 
father's four-horse team, handling the reins like a vet- 
eran " whip." 

It was no uncommon sight to see a woman trund- 
ling a wheelbanow, carrying home supplies to her 
famil}'. The older matrons of to-day recount with 
pride their experiences of those days when they had 
to saw and split their wood. 

It was only by practising small economies that peo- 
ple lived at all ; for instance, matches were very high, 
and people would lay a card of these on a board and 
with a sharp knife split each match, so as to make one 
do the work of two. Such methods were carried into 
all the affairs of life. As one person remarked, "It 
is surprising on how little a person can live if he only 
tries." 

All kinds of makeshifts and substitutes v^ere used, 
both in food and drink, many using a compound 
made of various roots and grains in place of coffee. 
Cotton twine entirely disappeared, and a coarse string 
made of hemp took its place. But this scarcity 
proved a blessing in the end, for many substitutes 
proved so much better that they have remained in 
use until the present time. This was most notably 
the case in making paper. Before the war only rags 
were used, but it was found that wood could be util- 
ized, and now more wood than any other material is 
made into paper. 

One of our traders was selling a piece of cloth to a 
lady. She demurred at the price. " Why," he said, 
" it is very cheap ; I will warrant it to be half cotton." 
She took it without further parley, as though cotton 
were warmer than woollen. 

Cotton underwear entirely disappeared, and men 
appeared with colored woollen shifts at all seasons 
of the year, at church, at weddings, at funerals, every- 
where. 



DOMESTIC AFFAIRS. 211 

Families that had cotton mattresses would exchange 
them for those made with curled hair, and get quite a 
sum of money besides. 

I have been unable to learn that any one suffered 
from want. All had enough to eat, drink, and wear. 
There was plenty of food, though some of it was higli ; 
water was as plenty then as now. As to clothing, peo- 
ple wore their old garments. Ladies introduced the 
fashion of making their dresses out of two or three 
kinds of material, and they were very charming in 
them. 

One thing that helped out poor people was that 
rents were very low : a good tenement could be hired 
lor three dollars a month. 



TIDINGS FROM THE FIELD. 



Before the war there was only occasionally a daily 
paper to be found in town. Dr. W. A. Mack, who 
kept a drug store opposite the Washington House, 
after the breaking out of hostilities began to keep 
them for sale. Every evening throngs of people 
would be waiting in groups around the stores, hotels, 
and on the streets, and when True Garland's well 
known whistle was heard, as his lead horses struck 
the factory bridge, the people would gather at Doctor 
Mack's for their papers. 

Saturday evening, April 3, 1865, the Boston Her- 
ald contained the news of the evacuation of Peters- 
burg. So strong was the desire to learn the news as 
soon as possible, that teams were run to Concord to 
bring the papers that arrived thereon the morning train. 

On Saturday, the nth, the welcome news was 
brought that Lee had surrendered. The driver of the 
team announced his approach by blowing a horn. 
Great was the rejoicing. Preparations were at once 
made to celebrate the event. Materials were col- 
lected, and bonfires blazed the whole length of Main 
street, cannon boomed from "Rocky Dam," and the 
bells were rung. The people flocked in from the 
country and crowded the streets or listened to speeches 
from various parties. The revelry was kept up until 
midnight. 

The next day in all the churches a thanksgiving 
service was held. Although no proclamation had 
been made by the governor for such an event, yet it 
was a thanksgiving, the most heartfelt and sincere 
this century ever witnessed. But this did not satisfy 
the people, so on Monday evening another celebra- 
tion w^as held, that people might give vent to the joy 
that swelled their hearts. 



LINCOLN'S ASSASSINATION. 



April 15, 1865, while Rev. Henry Snow, who had 
been a captain in the army but at that time was pas- 
tor of the Freewill Baptist church in this town, was 
in Concord, there came over the wires the news of 
the death of President Lincoln. Mr. Snow at once 
started for home, spreading the news along his route. 

When he reached Pittsfield the village was thrown 
into the greatest excitement. Mr. Snow delivered an 
address from the steps of the Congregational church. 
It was just dusk. The people thronged the streets, 
asking one another, What will the outcome be.^* 
Boxes were piled around the flag-staff on Washington 
Square and used for a platform, from which addresses 
were made by various citizens. If volunteers had 
been called for to enlist, every man, both old and 
young, would have come forward, so great was the 
indignation. It was believed that the rebel govern- 
ment was at the bottom of the plot. To show how 
soon all political feeling was lost in the great national 
sorrow, I will say that the Democratic flag on the 
staft^n front of Drake's hotel, which had been used in 
two political campaigns to defeat Mr. Lincoln's elec- 
tion, was the first in town to be draped in mourning 
for the dead president. 

The next day, when the facts became more fully 
known, the rejoicing that had taken place in the town 
over the surrender of Lee was turned to mourning 
over the death of the president. When Lee surren- 
dered it was believed that the war would soon end, 
and our citizens looked forward to the speedy return 
of our soldiers in the field, but now all seemed 
changed, for the mind that had controlled public 
affairs was dead. 



2 14 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

The new president, Andrew Johnson, was a south- 
ern man, whom the rebels hated with a most bitter 
feeling. They looked upon him as a rebel to his 
state of Tennessee, for it was their cardinal belief that 
a man's allegiance was due first to his state, then to 
the nation. 

When the funeral of the dead president was held in 
Washington on the 19th of April, services were held 
in the various churches in this town. When the 
funeral cortege reached Chicago, June i, another mass 
meeting, with appropriate exercises, was held in the 
Congregational church, and at the very hour when the 
remains were placed in the vault at Springfield, Illi- 
nois, minute guns were fired by the citizens, and all 
flags were draped in mourning for thirty days. 

It was in this manner that Pittsfield paid tribute to 
the character of Abraham Lincoln, who, born in 
obscurity, reared in poverty, for his honest courage in 
defending the right was raised to the high seat of 
power, from which he fell by the assassin's bullet 
into the arms of the American people, who as ten- 
derly, reverently, laid him at rest as a child would 
place a parent upon the bed of death, and who have 
preserved his memory in their hearts w^ith a remem- 
brance as sacred as a mother has for her first-born. 
It has been vouchsafed to but few men to be em- 
balmed in history as a liberator and emancipator. 



FINALE. 



Then was the home-coming of the soldiers. Dur- 
ing the entire war men had been returning from the 
front, — some to recruit, others discharged for disease 
or wounds, many of whom, as soon as they recovered 
sufficiently, reenlisted in the service. The first men 
from this town that were discharged by reason of 
expiration of term of service were the members of the 
Fifteenth regiment (nine months troops). They had 
seen hard service in the swamps of Louisiana, and 
had been roughly handled at Port Hudson, where 
they had been under fire for forty-six consecutive days. 
Along the route home they left nearly fifty men who 
were sick, to die ; several from Pittsfield were among 
them. The remnant of the regiment arrived in Con- 
cord, Saturday, August 8, 1863. 

Hon. L. D. Stevens of Concord said that these men 
looked more like men coming out of their graves, so 
emaciated and dirty were they, than like human 
beings. Word was brought by some one that the men 
of this command would be at home that night, and 
the citizens organized a procession and went out on 
the road to Chichester to meet them and escort them 
into the village. But the men were too exhausted to 
care for the plaudits of their townsmen. They would 
give more to lie down on the floor to sleep than to listen 
to praise from their fellow-citizens. Something to 
eat, then rest, was what they wanted. They staggered 
to their homes and greedily devoured the food set 
before them and then lay down on the bed to sleep. 
But they could not sleep, they seemed to be sinking, 
suffocating; they got up and laid down on the floor, 
and at once went to sleep and slept from fifteen to 



2 10 PITTSFIELD IN THE REBELLION. 

twenty hours, and then wakened only to eat and sleep 
again ; and, alas, some of them never to waken again. 

This was the only organized welcome to the return- 
ing soldiers. The people saw" that it was far better to 
let the poor fellows get into their homes and rest 
quietly, and recover from their hardships in the 
bosom of their families, than to make any demonstra- 
tion over them. 

But Pittsfield has never forgotten her veteran sol- 
diers. She has honored them in every way, not only 
by public office, but her citizens have done so in their 
private capacity. The town, has erected a beautiful 
monument in their memor}^ (see frontispiece), and 
each recurring spring-time she with a liberal hand 
assists the Grand Army of the Republic in decorating 
the graves of their dead comrades, thereby stirring the 
ambition of the living by keeping alive the memory of 
the heroic dead. 

The cost of the war to tliis town alone is beyond the 
comprehension of any one mind, for no one can meas- 
ure its far-reaching results. Of the one hundred and 
forty-seven men who entered the army from this town 
fifty-nine either died in the war or were discharged 
as unfit for further service, and forty-two died before 
the close of 1865. Of the remainder, but very few 
escaped without wounds or impaired health, and their 
lives have been shortened by the exposure and hard- 
ships endured while in the army. To this must be 
added the anguish and distress of those who remained 
at home, when they learned of the death or witnessed 
the sufierings of their loved ones. 

I doubt if there was a family or an individual in 
town who was not affected in this way, for nearly 
every family had its representative or some near and 
dear friend in the service. Then if we consider the 
amount of money expended by the town ($159,100) 
and add to this the sums contributed from private 
sources, bringing the total up to at least two hundred 
thousand dollars, one can get a faint idea what the war 
cost Pittsfield. 



FINALE. 217 

To Pittsfield belongs the following distinctions : 

I. It was the first town in the state and perhaps in 
the entire North to vote aid to soldiers' families, and 
that, too, without hope of being reimbursed from any 
source. 

3. That this town expended more money according 
to its valuation to carry on the war than any other 
town. 

3. That it sent not only the oldest but the youngest 
soldier into the army. 

4. That she had a son in the first regiment that left 
the North to preserve the integrity of the Union, and 
one in the last regiment of volunteers that was mus- 
tered out of service. 

5. That no other town sent a larger proportion of 
its inhabitants — nearly twice its quota, and with one 
or two exceptions her sons acquitted themselves with 
credit, more of her sons winning commissions in the 
field than even her large contingent would indicate. 

6. That Pittsfield's percentage of loss of men was 
higher than that of any state in the Union, and as 
far as we are able to learn, greater than that of any 
other town or city. 

7. That her soldiers served in every state south of 
Mason and Dixon's line from Virginia to Texas, and 
were engaged in nearly all of the important campaigns 
of the Rebellion. 

I cannot close this little volume without again 
expressing my regret that the task had not fallen to 
some one better able to tell the story of the four years' 
struggle than myself, — that some other person with a 
better command of language had not recorded the suf- 
ferings of my comrades, and the intense patriotism of 
this glorious old town of Pittsfield in the great Rebel- 
lion. 



PRINTED AND ILLUSTRATED BY THE REPUBLICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION, 

CONCORD, N. H. 



BATTLE-FIELD VIEWS. 

Photographic views made on the battle-fields of 

GETTYSBURG, FEEDBRICKSBURG, 
AND CHANCBLLORSVILLE. 

As these views are photographs of historic places, they 
should be found in every veteran's home. Mounted and 
handsomely bound in an album containing twenty-five dif- 
ferent views. Per vol., $5.00, single numbers 50 cents. 
Postpaid on receipt of price. 



PICTURESQUE . . 
. . . PITTSFIELD 



• • 



Photographic views in and around Pittsfield, N. H. These 
views, like those of the Battle-fields, are mounted on 7x10 
cardboard, and handsomely bound in an album containing 
twenty-five different subjects. The catalogues contain a 
list of over 100 different views. Send a two-cent stamp for 
one. Purchasers may select the numbers from the list and 
have them bound at the same rates. The price per album, 
either series, is $5.00, single numbers 50 cents, sent postpaid 
to any address on receipt of price. Address 

HENRY W. OSGOOD, Pittsfield, IV. H. 



MMim n 





OONOORD, N. H. 

PRINTING, 

ILLUSTRATING, 
BINDING. 




Our large four-story Printing House on Rail- 
road Square contains every facility for turning 
out the finest work promptly and economically. 

One of our specialties is the illustrating of 
Books, Pamphlets, Circulars, Etc., by the 
Half-Tone and Line processes. Specimen en- 
gravings and estimates of cost furnished upon 
application. 



Established Job Office, 1862. 

V " ■ 



Established Local Paper, 186"]. 



1 




[Above cut is a sample of Engraving by Republican Press Ass'n, 
from a photograph \iy H. W. Osgood, Pittsfield.] 

DANIEL T. NEAL, 

BOOK AND JOB PRINTER, 

NEAVS BUILDING, 

POST-OFFICE SQUARE, 

PITTSFIELD, N. H. 

Largest and Most Complete One-Man Office in New Hampshire. 



I 



ao to S^NDErtSOIST'S 

For Prints, Ginghams, Shirtings, Sheeting, Ticking, Table linen. 
Crash, Outing cloth, Lounge covering, Ladies', Gents", and Child- 
ren's Hosiery, Corsets, Handkerchiefs, Edgings, Collars, Soaps, 
Perfumery, Towels, Flannel, Ladies' Undervests, Blankets, Bat- 
ting, etc., etc. 

Also take a look at his 5 and 10 cent counters, full of useful articles- 

E. O. SANDEKSOISr, 

No. 1 Depot St., - - - Pittsfield, N. H. 

Dry Goods, Small Wares, 

Ladies^ Cotton Underwear, 
Hosiery, Gloves, Ladies\ 

Misses' and Children's Foot^vear. 

Butterick's Patterns kept in stock. 

n^ <^ T^AXTT^ COR. MAIN AND ELM STS., 
1. O. IS^J^iyil^, PITTSFIELD, N. H. 



IF IN NEED OF 



JOB PRINTING 

OF ANY KIND, SEND IT TO THE 

TIMES OFFICE, - ■ PITTSFIELD PUBLISHING CO. 
B. F, K A I m: E , 

who opened the first store in Pittsfield for the sale of boots, shoes, 
and rubbers, September, 1856, is now in Union Block. The business 
has shown a constant growth, and has always been the leading 

I500T Aivi> shoe: j^Tonii: 

in town. 

GEORGE GOSSMAN, 

Dealer in FOREIGN and DOMESTIC 

Dry and Fancy Goods, Ready Made Clothing, 
Hats, and Gents' Furnishings. 

Under the Hotel, PITTSFIELD, N. H. 



A. W. BARTLETT, 

Attorney and Counsellor at Law. 

OFFICE AT RESIDENCE, - - - - PITTSFIELD, N. H. 

E. A. EANE, 
ATTORNEY AND OOUNSELLOE AT LAW. 

Fire and Life Insurance Agenej'. 
TUTTLE'S BLOCK, PITTSFIELD, N. H. 

M. SWAIN CLOUGH, 

DEPUTY SHERIFF. 

Livery, Boarding, and Sale Stables. Also Dealer in Carriages and 
Sleighs. 

Depot Street, - - - Pittsfield, N. H. 

PUBLIC MARKET. 

LEWIS C. ADAMS, Proprietor. 

Meats, Vegetables, Fruits, and Canned Goods. 

Agent for Pratt's Food. 

First-Class Goods and Low Prices. 
GRAND ARMY BLOCK, DEPOT STREET, - ■ Pittsfield, N. H. 

joniv G. TL,. sm:itii, 

PRACTICAL HORSESHOER 

and GENERAL BLACKSMITH. 

Rear M. S. Clough's Stables, Pittsfield, N. H. 



W. B. IIARTWELL'S Mills on Concord St., Pittsfield, N. H. 

At his Grist Mill he has a large stock of FLOUR. CORN, MEAL, 
GRAIN, and Feed of all Kinds. 

At his Saw Mill he has a full assortment of SHINGLES, CLAP- 
BOARDS, BOARDS, and LUMBER, that any one may need. 

FANCY BAND and JIG SAWING, TURNING, and HARD- 
WOOD PLANING a specialty. 



T. F. QAY & CO. 

ELM STREET, PITTSFIELD, N. H. 
THE VARIETY STORE. 



Always on hand a complete line of Fine Stationery, Blank Books, 
English Tissue Paper, and many other novelties in this line too 
numerous to particularize. 

Also Crockery and Glass-ware. Headquarters for 5 and 10 cent 
goods. Fishing Tackle of every description. Gentlemen's Under- 
flannels, laundered and unlaundered Shirts, Neck-wear, Suspen- 
ders, Hosiery, Cutlery, and Fancy Goods. 

Agents for Ankarloo's Steam Dye House, and the 
Troy Steam Laundry, Manchester, N. H. 

All orders promptly attended to, for Books, Papers, and Maga- 
zines of every description. 

PLEASE CALL WHEN IN TOWN. 



(4th N. H. V.) 

lOOO Elm St., 3Ij%.]VCITE;STEH, Pf. IT. 

Jobber in all grades of Plug Tobacco. 



LADIES! 

When in doubt what to wear, or where to buy it, go to 

MRS. M. S. CLOXJG^H, 

Elm Block, Pittsfield, N. H. 

Where you will find one of the prettiest stores in New England, 
having a full line of Millinery, Fancy Goods, Ribbons, Gloves, 
Small Wares, etc. 

Particular attention given to trimming hats and bonnets in the 
latest styles and at the lowest prices. 



H. A. TUTTLE & CO. 

The largest clothing establishment in Ne^v 
Hampshire. 

The oldest business house in Pittsfield. 

Established on Water street in 1853. 

Moved to Thorndike block in i860. 

Removed to Tuttle's block in 1876. 

H. A. TUTTLE. N. DURRELL. 

WASHINGTON HOUSE, 

L. D. MARSTON, Prop., PITTSFIELD, N. H. 

Livery Stable Connected. Carriage to all trains. 

Hardware, Paints, Oils and Varnishes, Agri- 
cultural Tools, etc. 

BERRY'S STAND, MAIN STREET, PITTSFIELD, N. H. 

TUTTLE'S BLOCK, MAIN STREET. ESTABLISHED IN 1875- 

A full line of Meats and Provisions constantly on hand. 

DR. ^W. H. POOLE, 
o e: ]V T I s T . 

UNION BLOCK, MAIN STREET, PITTSFIELD, N. H. 

Teeth Filled with Porcelain, Gold, Amalgam, Oxy-Chloride of Zinc, 
and Plastic Enamel. 
Teeth made on Gold, Aluminum, Silver, Rubber, and Celluloid. 
Gas and Ether administered. Odontunder for painless extraction. 



TONSORIAL PARLORS, 

-ZS-l-n-in. C- Toi^-es, I=rop. 
Particular attention given to cutting ladies' and children's hair. 

DRUGGIST. 

l8t door West of Opera House, .... PITTSFIELD, N. H. 

B. ]N1. TILTOISr 

(Co. F, 12th N. H. v.), 

Manufacturer of Fine Hand-Made 

""^^^itSsa N. H^ HARNESSES. 

FOREST F. HILL, Proprietor. 
A pleasant home for travellers. 

Free carriage to and from all trains. 

LUTHEI^ ElVIERSOISr, 

DEALER IN 

CHOICE FAMILY GROCERIES, FLOUR, 

Hay, Grain, Etc., Grand Army Block, PITTSFIELD, N. H. 





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